Lucci Reborn
by LoveDragonsForever
Summary: Lucci died in the fight with Luffy... but he was reborn as Harry Potter! He still has his devil fruit powers and some mastery of Rokushiki. Gray Lucci and controlling Dumbledore. Challenge from TheBlackSeaReaper
1. Prologue

A/N Woohoo! New fic! Maybe I'll actually finish this one! :P

Updates for this shall be rather slow, I think, since I'll also be working on my other fic, The Dark Dragon Slayer at the same time. And also don't expect regular updates! My mind works in strange ways and it does not churn out material at the same rate! Oh and I could really use reviews telling me if I'm making Lucci very OOC. I've always had problems writing darker characters and so it would be really helpful if some of you guys could tell me if I'm doing all right.

Anyway, _**On to the story. **_

Rob Lucci walked past the falling Luffy. The kid had been stronger than he had expected, but no one could defeat him, after all. He was in his leopard form and was not bothering to change out of it yet.

Then he detected something, just a faint whisper of air. His instincts told him to turn around and he did... just in time to meet Luffy's first punch.

"Gomu gomu no... Jet Gatling!" Luffy shouted. Lucci was thrown against the wall and deep cracks formed oin the wall as he was pounded against it deeper and deeper.

Lucci noticed the pain was gradually fading and that he was losing consciousness. _Is this the end? _He wondered. _Strange... I always thought I'd go out in battle... but never though I'd be beaten by a brat like him... _

Lucci died.

_**Some time later**_

A young Harry Potter stared at his Aunt, fear in his eyes. He was just six years old, and already he did much of the chores around the house. Petunia was currently yelling at him, her face mottled in rage.

"Go to your cupboard!" she finished. She was angry because Harry had burnt the bacon again. The young boy turned and fled to his only safe haven in the house.

He sat down on top of his small bed and stayed there. Eventually he heard the click of the lock and knew that Aunt Petunia had locked the door. Gradually, the shivering subsided, and, not having anything else to do, Harry fell asleep.

_ Harry stared at four other strange people, a vicious smile on his lips. At last! He was a member of CP9! _

_ "To honor your promotion," a man with black hair said in a deep voice. He was short but he had a deadly air around him. "I have decided to give this Devil Fruit to you."_

_ Harry grinned and licked his lips. He didn't remember exactly what a Devil Fruit was, though... _

~Begin Flashback~

Harry stared at his grandfather, his young eyes wide and innocent. This was, of course, before he was quite ready to start physical training. "A Devil Fruit is a fruit that gives someone a specific power. Someone can't eat more than one Devil Fruit, or else they will explode. Devil Fruits are divided into Logia, Paremecia, and Zoan types. Zoan give their user ability to change into an animal, while Logias make their consumer's body into that of a particular element that is found in nature. Paremecias are the most varied of the Devil Fruits, they can give you any power that is not a Zoan or Logia ability."

~End Flashback~

_ "Will you accept it?" the man said._

_ "I will, Saul," Harry said. His voice was deep and he was a lot taller. He also realized that he had a pigeon perched on his shoulder. _No... _he thought. _I am Lucci!

_The scene changed into a different one. Lucci channeled the powers of his Devil Fruit and felt fur breaking out all over his body. He changed into a more feline version of himself, with yellow fur and black spots. His signature hawk-like eyebrows were the same. _

_ "So this is what it does..." Lucci said, grinning. "It is the Neko Neko no Mi, Model Leopard!"_

_ Once again the scene changed and Lucci was now six years old. He was training furiously in the arts of the Rokushiki. "Shigan!" he shouted, stabbing a rock furiously. He grinned when he saw the holes left there._

_ Once again the scene changed, moving instead to that in a shipyard. "I'd like to join the Galley-la Company," Lucci said formally. He was, of course, accompanied by Kaku and Kalifa. _

_ "Of course! Welcome to the family," Iceburg said. The three of them had already shown their skill to the older shipwright earlier. Lucci was only just able to keep his neutral expression at that. Hiding his distaste at a company being called a "family" was hard, though._

_ The scene dissolved and Lucci was left floating in darkness. _Family... _he thought. _I never had a family... _It was true. His parents had died shortly after his birth and his grandfather was anything but kind... _Perhaps... perhaps I can find what I lost in this life. _It was an odd thought for him... and one that filled him with a kind of happiness. Lucci was unused to feeling any sort of happiness except when he was able to do what he wanted to his opponents in combat. He grinned ferally at that, remembering his many victims' screams. _

_ More memories poured through Lucci's mind... memories of training, of missions undertaken with CP9, of how Enies Lobby got infiltrated by Straw Hat, and finally... his death._

_ Yet there was one more thing remaining after Lucci had died for the first time... _

There was a crashing sound at the door. Baby Harry blinked up at his father who was playing with Harry in his crib. James' eyes widened.

"Lily!" he shouted. "They're here! Take Harry and run!"

"But..." Lily protested while grabbing Harry.

"No! Run!" James insisted. "I'll hold him off!"

Lily turned and ran upstairs, hoping that she could escape through the window. She held Harry tightly, but he heard crashing sounds from downstairs, and then there was a man's scream... then silence.

"No..." Lily whispered, tears streaming down her face. "James..." Then she turned and ran towards the window. There would be time for mourning later.

There was a loud _crack! _And Voldemort appeared in front of her. "Step aside," he commanded in a high, cruel voice.

"No!" Lily snapped, holding her son close. Her eyes blazed with fire. "I'll never leave him!"

_Foolish woman, _Lucci thought. _She should have saved herself._

"If you step aside, I will spare your life. Just give me your baby," Voldemort said again, his patience wearing thin.

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead-" Lily said frantically.

"This is my last warning-" Voldemort was again cut off by Lily.

"Not Harry! Please ... have mercy ... Not Harry! Please — I'll do anything..."

"Mercy is for weaklings," Voldemort said. "Avada Kedavra!" There was a bright flash of green light and then Lily was falling and Harry was free. He frantically half crawled, half walked away.

"Avada Kedavra!" the cold voice said again and Harry felt a burning pain in his forehead before it all went black...

_Lucci grinned as he finally knew who he was now. He felt that he could still use his Devil Fruit... and he still knew how to use Rokushiki. Now it was time to make his so-called Aunt and Uncle PAY for what they had done to him!_

Lucci bolted upright and a feral grin crossed his face. He didn't know it, but his features had changed a bit, too. His eyebrows had changed to what they had been. The lightning bolt scar was still clearly visible if Lucci brushed back his bangs though.

Lucci got out of bed as silently as a stalking deck and walked over to the door. He simply kicked the door open. Then he walked out, wondering if the Dursleys had heard the noise yet. He heard footsteps from upstairs, so they had.

"Soru!" he muttered, vanishing. He shot towards the front door and kicked it open as well. He frowned; he had noticed that his techniques were not as strong as they once were... he was only about as strong as Blueno. Of course, he still had his devil fruit, and Blueno wasn't _weak, _but it was clear that he would have to train a lot.

"Geppo!" Lucci shot into the air well above the house. "Rankyaku Ran!" He kicked at the house and multiple, blue-tinted blades of wind shot through the air at it. By the time the neighbors had come out of their houses to see what was going on, Lucci was already gone. He really did have to find some place to train...

_**Dumbledore**_

Dumbledore sighed, pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "I'm getting too old for this..." he muttered. He had just received word that the the Dursley's house where Dumbledore had left Harry had been completely destroyed. All of the Dursleys had been found... dead. Harry was nowhere to be seen.

_What could have done this? _The old wizard wondered. _Was it Death Eaters? But the ward should have prevented that... All my plans have just gone out the window! How am I supposed to get famous by killing Voldemort now?!_

A/N And... done! So please review and tell me how I did... I could really use the feedback. I'm anticipating that the next chapter will be longer... this is just the prologue, after all!

Anyway, Lucci will maul you to death if you don't review. :P


	2. Diagon Alley

A/N As you have probably already noticed, I will be using Japanese for attacks and other various words like "nakama"

The next chapter should be out in a week or two

Also, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/alerted/favorited last chapter! The amount of people who like this story is kind of overwhelming... Thank you so much! I love you all! :P

And thank you to TheBlackSeaReaper, Koyo Takara Kitsune, Cashyhoray1.00, ultima-owner, UnseenRangerGal, Peyton-Alice, and Guest for reviewing!

_**Five years later**_

Lucci had made a home for himself in the nearby woods. He had built a small house deeper into the woods where nobody ever went. It was there that he had practiced and refined Rokushiki, as well as his devil fruit powers.

Lucci had just finished eating. He had caught a young deer and neatly skinned it. He only ate about half of it; he would leave the rest of it in a safe place and come back to it later.

It was about midday and Lucci headed back to his little hut. He blinked in surprise when he saw a letter in front of the crude door he had made. It appeared to be addressed to him, although he didn't go by the name "Harry Potter" anymore. It read as follows:

_Mr. H. Potter_

_The small hut_

_The woods outside Little Whinging_

Lucci paused here. _Huh, _he thought. _That's a really specific address. I guess the town must be called Little Whinging? _He continued reading.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of _WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

Lucci almost stopped reading at this point. Whoever had written this letter sure liked to boast. Yet the big words "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" was something that interested him. He knew that Voldemort has used magic when killing his parents, what else could it have been? However, Lucci had never thought that he himself could learn magic... this opened up interesting opportunities.

_Dear Mr. Potter _

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_ Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Minerva Mcgonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

"What does it mean, 'we await your owl?'" Lucci muttered. "Do they use owls to carry messages the way pigeons are used to deliver newspapers on the Grand Line?"

_Might as well look at the equipment list, _Lucci thought, pulling out the list. After scanning it for a moment he shrugged and put it back in the envelope. It was obvious that either this was a very carefully constructed fraud, or magic really did exist. _So... what now?_

"Guess I gotta go exploring," Lucci said. He grinned at that then turned and vanished in a burst of Soru.

_**A few days later**_

The brick wall looked obstinately back. Lucci scowled at it. He had looked at maps to try and figure out where you would hide a magical world, and this place seemed the most likely. Yet, a careful examination had yielded no hints of hidden levers or anything else that would make it a secret passageway. It probably used magic, which Lucci had none of.

He did however have a small silver key that had been in the letter. However, he somehow doubted that the key was at all magical. It was probably the key to a safe or something. Maybe it was a bank key.

At that moment, Lucci heard someone coming. He quickly hid and saw that a solitary woman was walking towards the brick wall. She looked around and Lucci shrank back further into the shadows. Then she tapped the bricks with a long stick she produced from her pants pocket.

The bricks folded back to reveal a huge archway that led to a bustling street. Lucci stared at it for a moment before using a burst of Soru to move into the alleyway unnoticed.

_I need money, _Lucci thought. He headed towards an impressive stone building that seemed to be a bank. There were lots of other interesting buildings, but money was the highest priority.

The bank was completely white, with doors of burnished bronze. A creature stood beside them. He was quite short and had a small, pointed beard. His fingers and toes were significantly longer than a human's and he was barefoot. He bowed to Lucci as Lucci walked in.

After passing through the bronze doors, he saw another pair of doors. They were silver, and there were engraved words on it.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there_

Lucci stopped briefly to consider the words. _That's an open challenge... _ he thought. _I'm surprised this bank hasn't had a host of robbers trying to overcome the challenge already. _Then another thought occurred to him. _Maybe it has... huh, I wonder what kind of security systems magic can create..._

Lucci shook his head, dismissing his thoughts, and walked in through the silver doors. He was now in a vast marble hall. Somewhere around a hundred goblins sat on stools behind two counters, scribbling notes, weighing coins with brass scales, and doing many other tasks. There were also tons of doors, and goblins manned each one, showing customers in and out of them.

Lucci walked up to one of the goblins. "Can I help you?" the creature asked, looking up from where she was peering through some kind of telescope at a sparkling diamond.

"I wish to visit my vault," Lucci said.

_Another pureblood, huh? _The goblin thought. The only child that would be walking around without a guardian would be a pureblood...

The goblin nodded. "Griphook!" she yelled.

Another goblin walked over and said, "Yes?"

"Take this young man to his vault," the female goblin ordered. Griphook nodded and asked to see the vault key.

Lucci reluctantly gave him the silver key and Griphook looked at it for a moment before nodding and giving it back. "Follow me," he said.

Lucci followed to goblin through one of the doors. "Get in," the goblin said, gesturing to a nearby mine cart that was resting on a pair of tracks going into a dark tunnel. Lucci sighed and did so. The goblin followed him in. Moments later the cart hurtled down the tracks.

The stone passageways were lit by torches and there were tons of different forks and intersections of various tracks. _Right, left, left, middle, right, middle, right, left, right, right, _Lucci thought, mentally keeping track of their pathway. _Past the dragon, middle, right, left, left, middle, middle, left middle, left, right, right._

Eventually the cart slowed to a stop in front of a small door in the stone wall. Griphook got out of the cart and unlocked the door. Green smoke came billowing out and Lucci wondered why there was smoke and why it was green of all things... it was probably better not to question it.

Once it cleared, Lucci's eyes widened slightly as he saw the treasure hoard inside. _Wow... _he thought. There were mounds of gold coins, heaping stacks of silver, and small hills of bronze. Lucci walked into the vault.

He pulled out a small bag that he had brought with him just in case his money took the form of coins or other such wealth. Lucci scooped a lot of gold and put it inside, then as an afterthought he added silver and bronze as well. The coins probably had names and values, but Lucci would figure that out later. And the gold was obviously worth the most anyway.

The trip back up to the hall of the bank was relatively uneventful. Lucci got out of the cart and left the bank. He pulled out the list of supplies that he had gotten in the Hogwarts letter. "Hmm..." he said out loud. "Robes? Really?" Lucci scowled; he hadn't expected the uniform to be this ridiculous. He sighed regretfully and headed towards a shop that looked like it would sell what he needed. On second thought, he decided that he better get some kind of bag to hold all his stuff first.

He walked up to a random wizard and said, "Where can I get a bottomless bag?"

"Oh, you mean a Zorta's Sack?" the wizard asked. Why did the wizards name their items such stupid names. Lucci shook his head and banished the thought.

"Yes," he said.

"Go down that way," the wizard said, pointing to his left down another alleyway. "And look for a shop called Hargon's Containers."

Lucci nodded and left. He soon found the place. It was a small shop, with brown bricks. The words "Hargon's Containers" were painted on the bricks above the door. Lucci went inside and a small bell tinkled to salute his arrival.

The shop was quite small on the inside. There was a small booklet laying on a nearby table with what seemed to be what they sold. After flipping through it for a moment, Lucci decided to take a Geonaka Bag. It was more expensive than the rest, but it looked like it had more capacity.

He walked up to the store clerk and said, "I want to buy one Geonaka Bag."

The clerk, a small man with mousy brown hair, nodded and disappeared through a door. He came back with a small green bag. "That will be twenty galleons," he said.

_Sounds like that's the gold... _Lucci thought. He pulled out twenty gold coins and gave them to the clerk. Lucci received the bag in return and, after pocketing it, turned and walked out of the shop.

_Now off to get some clothes... _he thought.

_**A few hours later**_

Lucci stretched lazily. He had finally gotten all of the supplies on the list. Now he just wanted to get a few more things before heading back to his hideout. First, he headed towards a small stand that seemed to be some kind of post office or something. He had an owl to send, after all.

He walked up to it and said that he'd like to send an owl. The woman manning the counter asked for his message and she attached it to a nearby barn owl's leg. _So they really do use owls, _Lucci thought.

"That will be four knuts," the woman said. Lucci gave her four of the bronze coins... it seemed like the wizards really did name their money in a way that could easily be figured out by someone with no experience with the currency.

The owl flapped off and Lucci headed over to the pet shop. It might be good to get an owl of his own. However, the first thing that caught his eye upon entering was a small cat that was curled up in a cage. It had black spots and yellow fur, and looked somewhat like what Lucci looked like when using his Devil Fruit powers.

It opened its eyes and stared at Lucci lazily. Lucci ended up buying the cat and he walked away with a new pet. He learned from the manager that the cat was actually a baby leopard. Lucci let the cat jump onto his shoulder... he smiled slightly at the familiar weight. He had missed Hattori...

After buying some more things, like a first aid kit, Lucci was about to head back to his hut. Then he remembered that he had forgotten something... his wand.

Lucci headed towards a small shop that said "Ollivanders: Makers of fine wands since 382 B.C." Lucci entered the shop and noticed immediately that it was covered in various boxes. Shelves were stacked high with them, and they were heaped in the corners as well.

"Good afternoon," a soft voice said from behind Lucci. The young wizard didn't move; he had heard Olivander trying to sneak up on him.

"Greetings," Lucci said formally. "I am here for a wand."

"Ah... of course..." the man said. "I am Olivander... now which hand is your wand hand?"

Lucci thought for a moment before extending his right arm. Olivander started taking measurements with a tape measure. After a moment he went towards the shelves and started pulling off some of the small boxes. The tape measure continued measuring on it's own.

Ollivander opened the first box and gave Lucci a brown wand. "beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nice and flexible. Give it a wave."

After a moment, Lucci waved the wand and nothing happened. Olivander pulled it from his hand and gave him a new one. The boxes of tried wands quickly built up around Lucci in stacks. At last, Olivander pulled out a brown box that was different from the other black boxes. "Try this one," he said.

Lucci picked it up and immediately felt a _resonance _within the wand. He waved it and a stream of red and gold fireworks shot out.

"Hmm..." Olivander said. "Curious, very curious..."

"What's curious?" Lucci demanded. He was starting to get annoyed at this man.

"This wand... is the only wand with two cores that I have ever made... Phoenix feather and threstal hair, yes... the even stranger thing is that the phoenix that gave the feather in that wand... why that phoenix also donated another feather... and that wand is the one that gave you that scar..."

Lucci shrugged. "Okay," he said. "How much for the wand?" Olivander seemed a little bit upset that Lucci was ignoring him.

"17 galleons," Olivander said. Lucci payed and left. It was now time to go back to his hut and get some sleep... and to give his cat a name.

A/N Am I making Lucci too OOC? Please review!


	3. Hogwarts

A/N Have I mentioned that updates are going to be highly irregular? Well, they are. But never fear! I am still writing this story! Once again, thanks for the reviews/alerts/favorites. You guys are awesome! Anyway, _**On to the story**_

_**September 1st**_

Lucci walked through the train station. He had later recieved an owl that had had his ticket on it. He had named his cat Tsume, which meant Blade in Japanese. Tsume was currently perched on Lucci's shoulder, although soon she would get too big to continue doing so.

Lucci frowned. He was supposed to go to a "Platform 9 3/4". Somehow he doubted he would find it easily... He saw another family walking towards an empty stone wall. They had a large assortment of luggage, including an owl in a cage. _Perhaps they are wizards? _Lucci thought. He didn't really want to ask yet another random person questions, so he waited and watched to see what they would do.

One by one they ran at the stone wall and passed through it. _So that is the way... _Lucci thought. After the last member of the family had passed through, Lucci walked towards it and stopped beside it, before carefully sliding through it.

There was a disorientating jerk and then Lucci was beside a set of railroad tracks. A crimson colored train engine puffed out steam. After a moment, the young wizard headed towards the train. He received a few odd looks for his muggle clothing; Lucci had managed to procure a suit and top hat, so he was dressed as he used to be in his past life.

Ludci found an empty compartment and sat down. Tsume jumped off his shoulder and landed on the seat beside him. Lucci started petting Tsume absently and the cat started purring. In that way, the boy waited for the train to start moving.

After some more minutes, the train started moving. A few minutes later, the door to the compartment slid open. A red-headed boy came in.

"Anyone sitting here?" the boy asked. Lucci simply watched him. The boy shrugged and sat down on a different seat. "Hello, my name's Ron," he said.

Lucci said nothing and simply watched. "You don't say much, do you," Ron said. Silence once more reigned in the compartment. "Cool cat," Ron said finally.

Tsume blinked and looked up at Ron. Lucci simply ignored the other boy.

Some time later, a brown-haired first year came into the compartment. "Has anyone seen a toad?" she asked. "Neville lost his."

"Meow," Tsume said. She had a toad in her mouth. She jumped off the seat and dropped the twitching toad in front of the girl.

"This is Neville's toad!" the girl said, aghast. She turned to hurry out of the apartment and give it back to Neville, when the door opened again and Neville stepped in.

"Can I sit here?" he asked. "Everywhere else is full... Oh good you found my toad! What happened to you?!" He directed the last at the poor toad which hadn't quite recovered form the traumatic experience of being carried by a cat.

Lucci simple ignored the teenagers as they started to talk. "So who are you?" Ron finally asked, directing the question at Lucci.

The Devil Fruit user looked at his cat and made a decision. When Tsume opened her mouth to yawn, Lucci used his ventriloquism. _"I am Tsume," _the cat apparently said.

"Woah! A talking cat! Wicked!" Ron exclaimed. Tsume looked up at Lucci and the boy could swear he saw the cat wink at him. That cat was entirely too smart... ah, well, she was just like Hattori.

_"Would you answer a question for me?" _Tsume asked.

"Of course!" Hermione said, leaning forwards eagerly. "How is you're able to talk anyway?"

_"How are _you _able to talk? And, anyway, my question is this: Is Harry Potter famous?"_

Hermione leaned back, apparently considering the cat's question. Meanwhile, both Neville and Ron stared at the cat then Lucci and back again.

"Yes he's famous!" Ron yelled. "Where've you been living for the last ten years?!"

_"In the woods," _the cat replied. _"I assume you do not know that you are sitting in the same __compartment as Harry Potter?" _

"EH?! You're Harry Potter?!" Ron yelled.

_"Yes, he is," the cat replied. _Lucci almost smiled but restrained himself. This would work as well as his time at the Galley-La Company worked if he did it right.

"So, he has the scar and everything?!" Ron continued yelling.

_"Scar?" _Tsume asked in a confused tone. She looked at Ron as if she was confused.

"Yeah, you know, the scar that he got when the killing curse rebounded and killed the Dark Lord?" Ron asked.

Lucci was slightly surprised. _Dark Lord? _He thought. _Some kind of criminal? I'd best find out what is going on here. _

_ "Dark Lord?" _Tsume "asked".

"Yes," Hermione said, speaking up. "The Dark Lord He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He was a wizard and he terrorized Britain for a really long time... until he tried to kill that boy over there and failed. No one knows why."

_"I see," _Tsume said. _This could be a problem, _Lucci thought. _I'm quite probably famous and this Dark Lord might come after me... _He didn't doubt the fact that the Dark Lord was alive for one moment. Pirates had a nasty way of doing that, so it was best to be safe.

At that moment the door to the compartment opened again. Lucci closed his eyes, hoping that whoever was there would not be another annoyance. A pale boy entered through the door. He had platinum blond hair and stood with a confident smirk.

"Is it true?" he asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, isn't it?"m The two other boys beside him looked like miniature mountains of muscle. They also didn't look very smart.

"Yes," Lucci replied this time. "Now go away before I make you." the tone of his voice made it very clear that that was not a suggestion, but a command.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," the boy said, ignoring Lucci's command. He had noticed that Lucci had briefly looked over his bodyguards. Tsume growled threateningly at him, but once again he ignored it. "And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Ron coughed slightly that could have been a disguised snigger. Malfoy looked at him. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

He turned back to Lucci. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand to shake Lucci's, and Lucci reluctantly took it.

"I see," he said. "I would prefer to talk about this at a later time. Now leave." His eyes glittered dangerously at Malfoy.

Malfoy backed up and hastily left the train compartment. "Then I look forwards to talking about this later!" he called over his shoulder.

Lucci closed his eyes and once again lapsed into silence.

Soon an announcer's voice came through the speakers. "We are now approaching Hogwarts. Please change into your school robes if you have note already done so. Also, leave your luggage on the train. It will be taken to the school separately."

Lucci sighed and, giving Hermione a glare, grabbed his trunk. Hermione quickly left and the boys began to change.

A few minutes later, Lucci was now dressed in the Hogwarts uniform, although he still wore his black hat. The train slowed, the stopped.

Everyone pushed their way out to the door and on to a tiny, dark platform. It was night out and rather cold. Lucci, of course, ignored the cold, although Ron was shivering. Then a lam came bobbing over the heads of the students.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" The voice was coming from a giant of a man. He was enormous and wore a black coat. He also had a beard. "C'mon, follow me—any more firs' years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!" Lucci shrugged and followed the giant. The other first years also followed him down a steep narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that there must have been thick trees there to stop out even the starlight.

"you'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the man said. "Th' name's Hagrid," he added.

There was a loud "Oooooh!" as they rounded the corner and could see Hogwarts. They were at the edge of a giant, black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the ther side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a giant castle. Lucci shrugged. He was used to such sights.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to the small fleet of boats waiting for the first years by the side of the lake. Lucci boarded one with Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Tsume.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid. "Right then—FORWARD!" The boats moved at once, propelled by some invisible force. They soon got to the gates of the castle. Hagrid knocked on the doors and they opened slowly.

A woman with a stern face looked out, then motioned them in. As the children walked forwards, the woman began to speak. "I am Professor Mcgonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts. Soon you will go out into the main hall and be sorted into one of four houses."

_Just get to the point, _Lucci thought. This woman bored him already.

"These four houses are: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff," the woman continued. "Now, follow me." Lucci reluctanctly got into a line behind the Professor Mcgonagall. The students walked into the hall of Hogwarts.

_Why are they using candles? _Was Lucci's first thought as he looked over the hall. There were five long tables; presumably one for each house and one for the teachers. Students were sitting at four of the tables and the fifth had adults. They were probably the teachers. Floating candles lit the room and Lucci thought this was extremely stupid. They had the technology for better light sources, so why not use it?

He glanced up and saw that the ceiling was an exact replica of the sky outside. _Huh, _Lucci thought. _This could be used for strategic purposes... You could build an encampment and use this spell on the walls so you could see what your enemy was doing-_ his thought was cut short as a voice rang throughout the hall.

Lucci looked up and saw that an old, battered hat on top of a stool was beginning to sing some song about the different houses. He decided that he wanted to get into Slytherin, as Gryffindor sounded outright stupid, Ravenclaw wasn't really his thing, and he'd never cared too much for nakama.

Professor Mcgonagall stood next to the hat and started to read names from a paper as soon as the hat was finished.

"Abott, Hannah," was the first one. A timid girl walked up to the hat and cautiously put it on her head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat yelled. Hannah walked over to one of the tables and the tables' occupants cheered for her.

Lucci sighed, waiting for the sorting to finish. Hermione, Ron, and Neville went to Gryffindor. Malfoy and his two thugs went to Slytherin. There was nothing else that was really that important. Finally, Lucci himself was called.

"Potter, Harry!" There was instant silence. Tsume yawned on Lucci's shoulder. Then suddenly whispered conversation broke out through the hall.

"Boy-Who-Lived-"

"Cool cat-"

"Why's that cat on his shoulder?"

"_He's _Harry Potter?"

Lucci ignored the whispers and walked up to the hat. He removed his own hat and set the Sorting Hat on his head. Then he closed his eyes and waited.

_Interesting... _a voice whispered in his mind.

_Who are you? _Lucci demanded of it.

_I'm the Sorting Hat... yes very interesting. Reborn, hmm? I haven't had to Sort one like you in a very long time... And don't worry, I can't tell anyone what I hear in your head... _At that, Lucci relaxed and decided to let the hat just do its thing.

_Bravery, yes... a sharp intellect and strength aplenty... a longing for nakama..._ At this point, Lucci could barely stop himself from _growling _at the hat; he did _not _have a secret longing for nakama, they just made you weak because you had to protect someone.

A_n assassin who lurks in the dark... hmm... very hard indeed..._ the hat continued.

Out in the hall, the whispers grew louder. It had now been over five minutes since the hat had been on Lucci's head.

_Hmm... very well, better be SLYTHERIN! _The hat shouted the last word out loud and Lucci removed it from his head and walked over to the Slytherin table, replacing his bowler hat as he did so. After a moment, the Slytherin table broke out into mixed applause.

Lucci noticed that Malfoy was motioning him over. He shrugged and sat down next to the pale-faced boy.

"You know, I never thought you'd make it into Slytherin," Malfoy said. "I was thinking that it was more likely that you would be a Lion... of course I am _extremely _glad to have you in my house."

_If you do not get to the point I am going to throttle you and enjoy watching your life fade, _Lucci thought angrily. _No, that would be too quick... instead I am going to rip off your limbs one by one... _

"So, how about we continue our... conversation from before?" Malfoy asked.

_"Yes," _Tsume said. Malfoy jumped at the apparently talking cat. _About time you got to the point, _Lucci thought. _Annoying brat. _

Tsume looked at Malfoy for a moment before continuing. _"I speak for my master... you were saying something about families?"_

"Ah, yes," Malfoy said, regaining his composure.

_**Up at the head table**_

Dumbledore was shocked. Not only had the lad managed to evade detection for all these years, he was not even close to what the old man had wanted him to be. Harry was cold and distant. And he had gone to _Slytherin, _of all places! Dumbledore had been sure that Harry would be in Gryffindor. This ruined all of his plans!

Dumbledore groaned silently as he considered what to do. Well, he might as well start the feast, for one thing. He closed his eyes briefly before standing up to start off the year.


	4. First Day

Lucci got up before dawn as usual. He moved quietly and got dressed before quickly moving down the stairs into the common room. One thing that he was not going to change was getting up early and training. He didn't care what kind of magic he learned, the physical arts had gotten him out of many circumstances and what would happen if he lost his wand?

An hour or so after dawn, he headed back up to his dorm to get changed for class. His dorm mates were still not up. They were being incredibly lazy. After changing into robes, he headed down to the grand hall. He was the first of only a few students who were up. The only one Lucci remembered seeing was a bushy-haired girl who he had seen on the train.

Lucci walked over to his table, sat down, and begin to eat. All the other students were just eating in silence, however the girl was apparently reading her textbooks. _She looks interesting, she's the only one so far who is bothering to train, _he thought. _It will definitely get boring without someone to talk to._

After finishing his meal, he got up and walked over to her. She looked up, startled, as he approached. "Hello," Lucci said.

"Um, hi," Hermione replied. "Why are you here? You're in Slytherin."

"So?" Lucci asked. "Why should that matter?" He sat down next to her, despite the fact that she had clearly not invited him to do so.

"Well, the people in Gryffindor and Slytherin hate each other... how do you not know this? You're in Slytherin yourself!"

"It seems rather stupid for people to hate each other simply because they are in different houses," Lucci said. "If you look at it rationally, then it makes no sense at all."

"Well, I suppose, but-"

"What are you doing here, you filthy snake?!" Ron growled at Lucci, interrupting Hermione.

_And to think he was neutral towards me on the bus... this whole house thing really is stupid. _Lucci ignored him and continued to talk to Hermione. "How did this whole thing start, anyway? Having divisions among the students can't be good during fights."

Hermione stared at Harry, aghast. "The students don't fight!" she said, ignoring Ron in her amazement that Harry would suggest such a thing.

"Why not? I assume the younger ones wouldn't, they wouldn't know enough. However, the older ones would be a valuable addition to any army, especially as a normal army wouldn't have any wizards in it."

"What are you talking about? All wizards can use magic, except for squibs, but there aren't many of those." Hermione was definitely confused at this point. It was looking like Harry had somehow managed to get into Hogwarts without learning about the most basic wizarding things!

"Didn't you hear me?!" Ron snarled, his ears starting to turn red in embarrassment at being ignored.

"Ron, he isn't that bad, really," Hermione said, trying to tell her friend that there was no need to be so antagonistic towards Harry, even though he was a Slytherin. "He was nice enough on the bus, even though he mostly ignored us, wasn't he?"

"But he's in _Slytherin! _How can you talk to someone like him?" Ron protested. At this point, more students were trickling into the great hall and they started to gather around the three students.

"It is her own choice about who to talk to," Lucci said smoothly. "I do not believe it is any of your business."

"You shut up!" Ron said, rounding on Lucci. He grabbed the other student's robes. However, Lucci didn't react, only stared at Ron coolly.

"If you would calm down, I am sure we could work things out," Lucci said. The only reason he was still talking to this idiot was that he would look odd if he didn't, and he really could use some information on the wizarding world. It appeared that non-magical people and magical people didn't fight together. He needed to know more.

"Ron!" Hermione said, standing up. "Stop it! It's my own choice about who to talk to!"

"You shut up!" Ron said furiously. "Are you a Gryffindor or aren't you?"

"Why should it matter that I'm in Gryffindor?!" Hermione snapped. "He's a perfectly nice person! It doesn't matter that he's in Slytherin as long as he isn't mean like the rest of them!"

"Ron, I don't think-" Fred started in from the crowd.

"That you should-" George added.

"Keep arguing with-" Fred continued.

"Hermione because-"

"You will-"

"Lose eventually." George finished.

Ron ignored his brothers and gave Hermione a glare. "Well, why don't you just go join the snakes, then?" he snapped before letting go of Lucci's robes and stalking off through the gathering crowd.

"Harry, I'm sorry about Ron," Hermione began.

"Don't worry about it," Lucci said calmly. Why should he care about what a weak idiot like Ron thought? Although, it would be interesting if he could get Ron alone in a corridor sometime... however, he would probably be missed. Lucci sighed to himself as he realized that it would be quite some time until he could torture someone.

"Harry, what are you doing?!" Malfoy said, striding through the crowd like they weren't there. His two bodyguards were behind him as always.

"I am talking to Hermione," Lucci replied. He felt his irritation at the pale-faced boy rising again and kept it from showing on his face. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"She's a Mudblood!" Malfoy said. "Why are you talking with someone like her?"

"I do not have to justify myself to the likes of you," Lucci said, staring down at Malfoy despite the fact that he was sitting and the Slytherin was standing. His face was calm and composed, betraying no hint of his emotions to the watching people.

Malfoy gave him a glare. "Trust me, you don't want to talk with someone like _her. _She's a filthy Mudblood!"

"Why should it matter who her parents are?" Lucci asked, guessing correctly that the Slytherin was talking about Hermione's parentage. He turned back to Hermione. "I would like to continue our conversation later," he said before getting up and walking out of the Great Hall.

A few minutes later, the students began to disperse to their various tables. A buzz of conversation started up, and the Great Hall was restored to normal.

_**One hour later**_

Lucci waited outside the Potions classroom with everyone else, his eyes closed and his arms folded across his chest. Tsume was somewhere in the castle, when Lucci had gotten back she was gone. After asking a portrait for directions, Lucci had quickly arrived at the Potions classroom.

At that moment, Snape arrived. He swept into the classroom and the students followed. After everyone had sat down, he walked up to the front of the classroom. "May I have your attention please,"he said. Instantly, all talking stopped.

Lucci, sitting next to Hermione nodded slightly to himself. This man was worth watching. He had a powerful aura that commanded obedience. This was someone that Lucci could perhaps respect with time.

Snape started the class by taking roll. When he came to the name _Harry Potter, _he stopped. "Ah, yes," he said. "Harry Potter. Our new... celebrity." After a brief war between his like of Slytherins and his hatred of James he had decided to treat Harry like a Gryffindor, he just wouldn't deduct points.

Some of the other Slytherins laughed, even though they were laughing at a fellow Slytherin. Lucci didn't care. He just waited until Snape finished roll, impatient for the class to start.

When Snape had called the last name, he looked up at the class. His black eyes seemed cold and empty as he looked around the classroom at his students. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he said. His voice was soft, but everyone could hear as no one was making any noise. Even the Slytherins seemed affected by the strange aura of the man.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic," Snape continued, pausing briefly to look at Lucci. The young wizard, as always, simply ignored the look. "I don't expect you to really understand the beauty of a softly simmering cauldron with shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't a big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually teach."

Lucci looked slightly more alert now,. This class sounded interesting. As an assassin, he knew the power of poisons. Having potions knowledge would be like expanding the arsenal of poisons he knew how to make. Hermione, on the other hand, looked positively eager to prove that she was smart and wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" Snape said suddenly. Lucci stared at him without interest. "What would I get of I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"You would get," Lucci replied, speaking rather slowly. "A potion that puts the victim to sleep, therefore making them an easy target." He had made that particular potion several times in his world, although the ingredients weren't exactly the same, they sounded similar and he thought it was a fair guess. It was better than saying "I don't know" after all.

Snape looked surprised. "Correct, Potter. What about if I told you to find a bezoar?"

_A what? Isn't that some kind of legendary thing that's supposed to cure every poison? _Lucci thought. "I have no idea, and frankly I don't know why I would ever find that knowledge useful. A bezoar is supposed to cure all poisons, but I presume it is hard to find and it simply easier to carry the cures to your own poisons with you."

Hermione had her hand stretched as high into the air as it could go without her actually getting up. She looked as if she knew the answer and Lucci wondered why the teacher didn't call on her. Certainly it would be better to call on someone who knew the answer than to keep quizzing someone who only knew part of it.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape continued.

"With all due respect, Professor, why do you keep asking me these questions? Wouldn't it be better for the class to ask someone who definitely knows, like Hermione, rather than someone who probably doesn't know?" Lucci had never heard of those particular herbs. He hadn't had a chance to read through all his textbooks yet.

A few people laughed at that, and Hermione looked about ready to jump out of her seat with her eagerness to answer. Snape, however, remained quite grim.

"For your information, Potter, a bezoar is taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons, not all. Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant,. Which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Copy that down!"

There was a sudden scramble for quills and parchment. Lucci stayed still, closing his eyes again. He had already committed the facts to memory.

Eventually, after everyone had finished writing down the facts, Snape continued the lesson. He had them all pair up and start mixing a simple potion that would cure boils. He walked around the classroom, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing everyone, even the Slytherins. He had just started praising the way Malfoy had stewed some ingredient or another, when clouds of green smoke and hissing filled the dungeon.

Lucci looked around for the source of the smoke and saw that a timid Gryffindor boy, the one who had lost his toad on the train, Neville something or other, had managed to melt another kid's cauldron into a twisted blob of metal and the potion that they had been working on was seeping across the floor, burning holes in peoples' shoes. Everyone in the class quickly stood on top of their stools to avoid the acidic liquid. Neville, meanwhile, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprung up all over his arms and legs. He had been unfortunate enough to be drenched in potion when the cauldron melted.

"Idiot boy!" Snape snarled, waving his wand, making the potion vanish. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered pathetically as the boils continued spreading. "Take him to the hospital wing," Snape commanded Neville's partner. "You, Granger, why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? I thought you were supposed to know everything about potions? Two points from Gryffindor!"

Hermione looked like she was ready to cry at having lost Gryffindor points. Lucci glanced at her. "Calm down, it's just a few points. If you work hard, you can make them up in other classes. Besides, who cares about points anyway?" This reasoning didn't seem to calm Hermione down at all.

Lucci sighed and turned back to the potion, continuing to brew it. An hour later, after all the students had handed Snape small flasks of their potions, they headed out of the dungeons. Lucci glanced at his schedule and saw that he had Transfiguration next and then Charms, and after that would be lunch.

Later that day, after the last class of the day, Lucci lay awake in his bed, studying the ceiling. Hogwarts was not at all like he expected. He hated having to ask the portraits for directions. Besides that, the classes seemed extremely useless. History of Magic was taught by a ghost, and who cared about history anyway? Even if history could be important, the teacher made it extremely boring.

Transfiguration and Charms could be useful, he supposed. It would take a while to get good enough at Transfiguration to be able to use it in battle, though. Also, he couldn't see how making a feather float around could be useful in a fight. Potions looked interesting, though. He could see potential in that class. Tomorrow he had something called Defense against the Dark Arts. Perhaps that would turn out to be a little bit more useful.

A/N Like it? Love it? Review it!


	5. Born to Fly

Lucci was the first one into the classroom. It was simply arranged, with rows of desks facing a larger teacher's desk in the front. Off to the side there was a raised platform that looked like it might be used for dueling.

"Welcome," a calm voice said. The chair behind the teacher's desk turned and Lucci saw a tall man. He wore a large, white turban that covered one of his eyes. Lucci could smell a faint scent coming from the turban that was just... wrong. He didn't know how else to describe it, it was almost as if there was something rotten in the turban, but that wasn't quite right...

Lucci nodded to the teacher and made his way over to a desk. He figured he could worry about the wrong smell coming from the turban later, and it wouldn't do to make a scene now. The teacher watched him for a moment before returning to whatever it was he was doing.

A few minutes later, the rest of the students came in one by one. They all seemed surprised to see Lucci already sitting there, and he figured that most of them didn't have the sense to ask a portrait for directions. It was a class with the Slytherins, and as members of the houses came through the door they glared at each other.

Malfoy came and sat next to Lucci and the feline ignored him. Then Hermione came and sat on his opposite side, shooting glares at the Slytherin.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped.

"I could say the same to you, Mudblood," Malfoy replied coolly.

"Why you-" Hermione said, furious at the insult to her parentage.

"Both of you shut up," Lucci growled. "Or I will rip your throats out and feast on your blood."

Both students stared at him before starting to laugh nervously. "That was a good joke," Hermione said after a moment, hoping that it was in fact a joke.

Lucci gave her a glare. "If you are going to sit next to me, then _shut up. _You're giving me a migraine." Of course, he hadn't been joking and it irked him that these two students had both thought that he was.

"Attention, class!" the new Defense professor called out suddenly, getting to his feet. "I am Professor Quarrel and I will be your new Defense teacher," he continued after the Slytherins and Gryffindors had mostly quieted down. He stared at all of them, taking in Lucci's bored look, the sparks that seemed to fly between Hermione and Malfoy, the snickering Crabbe and Goyle, and the rest of the sorry lot of students he was supposed to teach.

"In this class-" Quarrel began, but was cut off.

"Give that back!" Neville yelled, lunging at Crabbe. The bigger boy snickered and held a glass ball just out of Neville's reach. "I said give it back!"

"Come and get it," Crabbe said. Goyle laughed as well, standing up behind Crabbe.

"_Sit down,_" Quarrel said in an icy voice. The three students turned to face him and met his death glare. "Return that glass ball _now _or you'll wish that you had. Did I not make myself clear? _Return it!_" Malfoy barely restrained from face-palming at his minions' stupidity.

After a moment of thought that looked like it hurt, Crabbe returned the ball and sat back down. Neville glared at him a moment longer before returning to his seat. He still looked furious.

"As I was saying before the... interruption," Quarrel said, returning to his original spot at the center of the room. "This year you will be learning basic defensive spells, and if we have have time, offensive ones near the end of the year. Now, you will be assigned a dueling partner who will be your partner until the end of the year."

Quarrel held up two goblets. One of them had Gryffindor written on it in red letters, and the other was neatly labeled Slytherin. "Once you have your partner, adjust your seating accordingly." He pulled two papers from the Gryffindor goblet and read off the names. "Hermione Granger, your partner will be Neville Longbottom," he said. He then repeated the process with Slytherin.

Lucci watched with amused interest as Crabbe and Goyle were paired up. He wondered if that pair would be capable of learning the spells. They certainly seemed to be short a few brain cells. Lucci's head jerked up as he heard his "name" called and he looked up at Quarrel.

"Harry Potter, your partner will be Draco Malfoy," the man said smoothly. Lucci shrugged and closed his eyes again. There appeared to be no need to do anything as he was already sitting next to Malfoy. He supposed there were more annoying partners he could have had, like Crabbe or Goyle. The feline winced slightly, imagining what it would have been like if he had been stuck with either of the monstrous boys. At least Malfoy could provide decent conversation at times.

"Now that you all have your partners," Quarrel said after everyone had finished moving around the room, "I will began teaching you the first spell you should know. This is a simple shield charm." He looked around the classroom before his eyes settled on Lucci. "Why is it that I am teaching you a shield charm first, Mr. Potter?"

Lucci replied without looking up. "If you can shield yourself from all of the damage that your opponent can inflict on you, then you can defeat them at your leisure," he said. He had almost said "kill" instead of "defeat", but had caught the slip in time. It would be considered strange if an 11-year-old boy had talked so freely of killing his opponents.

"Very good, Mr. Potter. Five points to Slytherin. Now, the incantation of the shield spell is _Scutulum._" Quarrel demonstrated the shield spell, and Lucci found himself somewhat interested for the first time since he'd come to Hogwarts. He could probably just use Tekai for physical damage, but he had no idea if it would work to deflect spells and he didn't want to find out in the middle of combat. Having a few shield spells would be quite useful.

"Now, I'm also going to teach you a simple stinging hex," Quarrel said. "This will deal hardly any damage and is virtually no use in combat, but is quite useful when practicing shield spells. The incantation for this spell is..."

Lucci sighed and started tuning Quarrel out again. What was the point of teaching them something that wouldn't even have a use in combat? To his mind, there were plenty of non-lethal spells he could show them which would work just as well for practicing a shield charm.

"Tekai," he said absently as he sensed that particular attack spell coming towards him. He glanced up to Malfoy pointing his wand at him. Lucci gave him a look and stood up, banishing his Tekai. "I assume that means you're ready," he said calmly. "I'll shield first."

Malfoy nodded and jabbed his wand at Lucci again, flicking the tip as they had been instructed. "Sonasu!" he declared. A nearly invisible white light shot out of the tip of his wand, heading towards Lucci.

"Scutulum," Lucci said absently. A faint blue shield flickered into being in front of him and Malfoy's spell splashed into it harmlessly. "Your turn," Lucci said lazily. He flicked his wand at Malfoy. "Sonasu."

Malfoy also easily shielded against the spell. "There's really no point to this," he remarked casually, sending the offensive spell at Lucci.

Lucci shielded and returned fire. "Yes, well, look over there," he said, pointing to a pair of Gryffindors. One of them, Hermione, appeared to be having no problem with the shield spell. However, her partner, the boy who had lost his toad on the train, couldn't summon up a solid shield.

"Pathetic," Malfoy sneered. "I don't understand why they let idiots like them into Hogwarts."

"Indeed," Lucci replied. "It would make far more sense if there was a test of some kind... that way people who can't cast simple spells won't take up the time of people who actually want to learn."

"You know, I think I'm starting to like you," Malfoy remarked. Lucci responded with a noncommittal shrug. At this point in time, he didn't really care about the boy one way or another.  
"Is that unusual?" Lucci asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes it is," Malfoy replied. "With a father like yours, I would have thought that you'd be arrogant and stupid."

"Well, at least I don't rely on thugs for protection," he replied easily.

"Maybe you are arrogant and stupid..." Malfoy replied with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I never denied it," Lucci said smoothly. He would never admit it, but he was starting to enjoy bandying insults with Malfoy. "I will happily admit my shortcomings, but despite the fact that you have many more, you seem hesitant to admit them."

Malfoy grinned, looking a bit like he was also enjoying this. "I may be stupid, but at least I don't act like a Gryffindor!" he retorted.

"If I am a Gryffindor then you are a fat, lazy snake who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'cunning'," Lucci replied easily. "Sonasu," he muttered. The spell shot towards Malfoy and the other boy was absorbed in coming up with another insult so he didn't see it.

"Ouch!" he yelped as the spell struck his arm. He sent a glare at Lucci.

The feline simply stared at Malfoy smugly. "I win," he said calmly.

"See?" Malfoy said. "That's what I mean by Gryffindor thinking. You only won by attacking, not by thinking!"

"Are you saying I can't think?" Lucci asked.

"I'm not saying anything... take it how you will," Malfoy said cheerfully. "Oh, hey, is class over already?"

"Yes, idiot," Lucci said sarcastically before gathering his supplies. On the way out the door he felt the sting of a spell on his arm. He spun around and glared at Malfoy who simply laughed at him.

"One of these days..." Lucci muttered. He shook his head and continued out.

"Hey, wait up!" Malfoy yelled, running after him. "What's next, anyway?"

"Don't you have a schedule?" Lucci asked dryly "Next is flying..."

"Oh, yes, flying. As for the schedule, I think I... _misplaced _it somewhere," Malfoy replied, putting emphasis on "misplaced".

"You mean you lost it," Lucci stated flatly, raising a single eyebrow at Malfoy.

"Yes, well, maybe..." Malfoy said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Crabbe and Goyle finally caught up with the duo at this point. They positioned themselves on either side of Malfoy. Lucci refused to move, however, making Crabbe be behind Malfoy instead of at his left side.

"You should toss the goons," Lucci said absently. The arrival of the two hulking heaps of muscle had distracted him from his previous train of thought.

"You've said that before," Malfoy replied. "However, I need goons. It's part of the Malfoy aura, you know?"

"You should generate your own aura," Lucci said calmly. "I don't need goons yet everyone appears to be afraid of me."

"Yes, but Malfoys are expected to have bodyguards. It's part of the whole Pureblood thing. I can't disappoint them, now can I?"

"You're really concerned with what people think, aren't you? Maybe you should just focus on getting stronger and not care about what anyone thinks," Lucci said. Crabbe grunted and the feline briefly wondered if that meant he agreed or that he just felt like grunting.

"We're here," Malfoy remarked, changing the subject. The four Slytherins had in fact arrived at the field where flying lessons were to be held. It was a large, green grassy field. Nearby, there was what looked like some kind of stadium, with tall hoops on sticks rising out of the ground.

Slytherins and Gryffindors continued to trickle onto the grounds for the next couple minutes. When it appeared no more students would be arriving, a tall woman blew a whistle that was on a chain around her neck. "Attention!" she yelled.

The gathered students slowly turned their attention to the woman. Mutters started up among the first years once more. "I am Madam Hooch, your flying instructor!" the woman, now known as Madam Hooch, continued. "Everyone come up here and get a broom!"

The woman waved her wand and a stack of brooms appeared next to her. After some more talking, the students walked up to grab a broom. Lucci instinctively grabbed one, he had no idea why, it looked just like the others but he had learned long ago to trust his instincts. Ron and Malfoy grabbed the same broom, and after a brief tugging contest, Ron let go but not before shooting another glare at the Slytherin.

Once the students were back in their original places, Madam Hooch blew her whistle again to catch everyone's attention. "Place your broom on the ground," she said firmly. "Now put your hand over it and saw "Up!""

"Up!" Lucci said. The broom eagerly jumped off the ground and into his hand. "Was their any point in having us put it down then pick it up again?" he muttered. Then he glanced around the ground and saw that only a few people had been able to make their brooms jump into their hands, Malfoy and Ron among them. The broom had rolled a little ways away from Hermione, almost as if it was afraid of her.

Some time later, Madam Hooch managed to get a broom into everyone's hand, although Hermione looked scared to be holding one. Then the teacher demonstrated how to mount their brooms and walked among the rows, adjusting grips and lecturing various people. Ron sent a smirk at Malfoy when the Slytherin's grip was corrected by Madam Hooch. Malfoy didn't seem to care. Perhaps he had decided to start taking Lucci's advice, or maybe he just didn't care about what a Gryffindor thought about him.

"Now kick off the ground on three!" Hooch yelled. "One, two-" The plump kid who lost his toad on the train, Neville something or other, shot off into the air before Hooch finished saying "two". He cried out as his broom bucked around, out of his control.

It was obvious that Neville was going to fall off his broom any moment now. Instinct took over and Lucci shot off into the air as the instructor ran towards where Neville was thrashing about dozens of feet above the ground.

"Get down!" Hooch yelled at Lucci. The feline ignored her and shot after the struggling Gryffindor. He urged as much speed out of his broom as he could. Flying like this just felt right, much more so than using Soru or Geppou.

Neville screamed as he lost his grip on his broom and plummeted towards the ground. Lucci didn't even think as he swung his broom down into a dive. He bent over the handle, urging every little bit of speed out of it that he could.

Mere feet from the ground, Lucci reached out and grabbed Neville's arm. The plump boy cried out as his momentum was stopped with a jerk, and then he was swung up on Lucci's broom moments later.

The feline landed in front of Hooch and Neville got off shakily. Hooch glared at Lucci, although the young wizard was completely unaffected. He'd faced worse things than a little glare. "Never in all my days!" she growled. "Ms. Granger, take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. You, come with me!" she added, giving Lucci a glare. The feline shrugged and followed.

Hooch brought him outside a classroom and then walked inside. "Can I borrow Flint for a moment?" she asked. A minute later, she came out followed by another Slytherin boy. He looked vaguely familiar, the feline had probably seen him in the Slytherin common room.

After a short conversation, Lucci was offered a position on the Slytherin quidditch team. After a moment of hesitation, Lucci nodded. He knew that he would probably get a broom if he accepted and wouldn't get one if he didn't. And more than anything else, he wanted to feel that amazing feeling of flying again.

By the time Lucci was able to leave the duo, he knew a lot about the game of quidditch and felt confident that it would be easy enough for him. He didn't know it, but as he walked into the Great Hall, the corner of his mouth was quirked upwards slightly. It felt like he had finally found a place where he truly belonged.


	6. Of Trolls and Snakes

Dumbledore sat in his study, his face in his hands. Is eyes were closed as he silently bemoaned what had happened. Not only had Harry managed to leave the Dursleys, but when he had showed up he went into Slytherin and hadn't made friends with Ron like he was supposed to. Instead he preferred to hang out with Draco and that Granger girl.

"It is for the greater good," Dumbledore mumbled. Now the question was what he was going to do about this. "I have to get him back under my control," he muttered. "But how?" He forlornly took a lemon drop and popped it into his mouth, sighing as he did so.

Dumbledore completely missed the disapproving looks his familiar was giving him. Fawkes trilled sharply, but the elderly wizard ignored the bird in favor of finding a way to manipulate Harry into doing what he wanted.

Fawkes stared at the old man unhappily. When had had first bonded with Dumbledore his heart had been pure, but now the wizard was steadily turning to the dark side and wasn't even noticing it. Also, he was completely ignoring the phoenix's warnings.

_**Lucci**_

Lucci tossed and turned restlessly, unable to sleep. His scar kept waking him, burning with pain every time he managed to slip into a half slumber. He tried meditation techniques but they did no good.

Tsume pushed her elegant head against his hand, clearly worried for him. Lucci sighed and gently fondled the leopard's ears, murmuring, "I'm fine..."

Tsume meowed softly and gave him a reproachful look. She curled up against his chest, purring quietly. A slight smile graced Lucci's lips briefly as he stroked his cat. He closed his eyes and finally managed to get to sleep, although his scar still burned.

The next morning, Lucci got up early as usual. He was already on his way out of the Great Hall when most students were still filing into it. The feline was paying much attention to his surroundings so he quickly found himself lost somewhere in the depths of the castle.

_This isn't the Slytherin common room... _he thought. _I can't believe I'm lost... again. _Lucci looked around for a portrait to ask for directions, but didn't see one. _Ah, great, _he thought. _I'm probably going to be late, too... oh, who cares. Worst I'll get is detention._

Lucci heard robes whispering over the ground and spun around to see Quirrel walking down the corridor towards him. "Lost?" the Defense teacher asked in a crisp tone.

Lucci narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't want to admit that he was lost to an actual person. Talking to an animated object was one thing, but his pride kept him from telling Quirrel "yes." Instead, he shrugged noncommittally.

"I'll take that as a yes," Quirrel remarked, a slight smirk on his lips. Ignoring Lucci's half-hearted glare, he continued walking down the corridor. He glanced back at Lucci and said, "You coming?"

"...Fine," Lucci said shortly, walking after the teacher. "You can leave me here," he said as they came into a corridor he recognized.

"Very well," Quarrel said, walking back in the direction he had come from. Lucci sighed and walked briskly through the corridors leading to the History of Magic classroom. He didn't think that the ancient ghost would notice that he'd been gone, but it was possible.

Lucci opened the door and quickly slid into a seat next to Malfoy's. Within moments, a piece of paper landed on his desk.

_Where were you? You aren't usually late. _

Lucci scowled and wrote back in rather spiky handwriting.

_I got lost. I couldn't find any portraits to ask in order to find my way back to class. I ran into Quarrel and he showed me the way back. Does it matter? It's not like I missed anything important..._

Lucci tossed the paper onto Malfoy's desk and the pale boy read it before busily scrawling something. Professor Binns continued droning about the Goblin Wars, not that anyone was actually paying attention. A minute or so later the paper arrived on his desk again.

_Good point. I'm gonna sleep now. Wake me up when class ends?_

Lucci rolled his eyes. He, unlike Malfoy, never slept during History of Magic. That didn't mean he payed attention either, but Malfoy always asked him to wake him up.

_Of course, _Lucci wrote back. After tossing the note back to Malfoy's desk, he sighed and settled down for a long and boring hour.

_**The next day**_

Lucci got up early as usual and realized that it was October 31st, Halloween. That meant he didn't have any classes. He shrugged dismissively, not really caring. He intended to spend more time training. What else was he to do with a completely free day?

Lucci was about to leave the dorm room when Malfoy emerged behind him. "Hey, Harry," he said.

Lucci turned around and raised a single eyebrow. "Yes?" he asked. Tsume snuck up behind him and thrust her head into his hand. He sighed and picked up the leopard, lazily patting her. "You're getting a bit big..." he muttered to the cat.

"You always go out early to train," Malfoy said.

"Your point?" Lucci asked, fondly stroking Tsume. The cat purred softly.

Malfoy looked somewhat uncomfortable, shifting his feet and not looking Lucci in the eye. "I, um, want to get stronger," he said after a moment. "I'm tired of hiding behind others, like Crabbe and Goyle. I want to get stronger in my own right."

"Are you asking me to train you?" Lucci asked curiously. Perhaps he had gotten the wrong impression of the other Slytherin after all.

"Well, um, yes," Malfoy said nervously. He glanced up hopefully. "You will, right?"

"Why not?" Lucci said. He would never admit it, but it was somewhat lonely, down by the lake without anyone to practice with. "Come on," he said to both Tsume and Malfoy.

The trio headed down onto the Hogwarts grounds the long way, through the castle. Normally Lucci would find a window and Soru through it with Tsume, but he didn't want to reveal Rokushiki to Malfoy, at least not yet.

The trio arrived on the grounds and walked down to the edge of the lake. Tsume yawned lazily, exposing sharp fangs. She turned and bounded off into the Forbidden Forest after a few seconds and Lucci watched her go with a fond look in his eyes.

"Shouldn't you stop her? There are dangerous things out there," Malfoy said.

"She'll be fine," Lucci said. "She's surprisingly strong. In any case, what is it you are looking for training in? I can teach you martial arts, but I know nothing more of magic than you do."

"Could you teach me martial arts? Wizards tend to be nearly defenseless without their wands, after all."

Lucci smirked. "Very well. Have you had any previous training?"

"A little," Malfoy said hesitantly.

"Good. Attack me!" Lucci commanded.

Over the course of the next hour, Lucci figured out what Malfoy knew and set the boy a variety of exercises that would make him stronger and faster. The sun had risen by this point and Lucci figured that the rest of the Slytherins would be up soon. "No, no," Lucci said, correcting Malfoy's (rather weak) kick. "The way you're kicking, you'll hit the target with your toes. You want to hit with the ball of your foot. Try again."

Finally after Malfoy was able to execute a basic kick perfectly, Lucci had pity on the other Slytherin and called a halt. "Not bad," he acknowledged. "You have a long way to go, though. We'll resume after breakfast."

Malfoy nodded and trudged back to the castle. He looked exhausted and his breathing was ragged. Lucci, on the other hand, looked like he always did, that is to say, solemnly quiet and completely composed.

After breakfast, Malfoy still looked exhausted and Lucci sighed, shaking his head. "Go take a nap," he allowed. "I'll come get you to resume training in a few hours."

Malfoy nodded and trudged off to the Slytherin common room. Lucci headed out onto the castle grounds and towards the Forbidden Forest to find Tsume. The silver leopard was rarely gone this long and he was starting to feel somewhat concerned, although he knew that she could look after herself.

Lucci had barely reached the edge of the forest when Tsume came tearing out, her legs a blur. She saw him and changed course, leaping onto his shoulder and burying her face in his neck. Her body was trembling and she looked positively freaked out.

Lucci walked away from the forest and sat down in the grass, where he gently stroked Tsume until her trembling ceased. He frowned, wondering what could have scared her so badly. He lifted her up and looked at her wide eyes. She held his gaze and Lucci felt a … presenceat the edge of his mind. It felt wild, almost like his more feral instincts.

_Tsume? _Lucci thought, trying to project the thought at the strange consciousness at the edge of his mind. He had often thought that he had something like this connection with Hattori, but he supposed that it was far more likely that there might be an actual connection between him and Tsume, if the leopard was magical somehow.

The consciousness trembled against Lucci's and the Slytherin felt nothing but fear exuding from it. He tried to reach out towards it, but it fled before he could touch it. Lucci decided not to try and pursue it, not wanting to alienate his pet. He sighed and continued stroking Tsume, an oddly tender expression on his face.

Lucci glanced at the sky and realized that about two hours had passed while he was trying to communicate with Tsume. He sighed and got up to continue training Malfoy. He had to admit that it was somewhat... _fun... _to train the kid. He reminded Lucci of himself when he was young.

_**Later that night**_

Lucci yawned, looking out at the Great Hall. Malfoy was improving steadily, although the pale boy was unusually quiet as he ate. Perhaps Lucci would even show him Rokushiki, if the other Slytherin continued to improve at this rate.

He scanned the Great Hall and noticed that Hermione wasn't present at the Gryffindor table. He shrugged, discounting the fact. She was probably in the library. It seemed like the sort of thing she would do. Lucci found the Gryffindor to be a source of intelligent conversation, something that was lacking even among his house mates. Up at the staff table, Quarrel and Snape were both absent. He wondered if that was usual for the Halloween feast or not.

The feline yawned again, wishing that the Headmaster would dismiss the students already. Unlike the other meals, students couldn't leave the Great Hall at dinner until Dumbledore dismissed them which was a fact that Lucci found particularly annoying.

Lucci heard rapid footsteps and his head jerked to stare at the doors to the Great Hall. A moment later they boomed open and every head in the Hall turned simultaneously to look at the form of Snape. "There's a troll in the dungeons!" Snape declared.

The reaction was instantaneous. The momentary quiet that had descended on the hall when Snape had entered was broken by nervous chatter, and students shot looks at the doors to the Great Hall, as if they were expecting the troll to come bursting through at any moment.

"What is a troll?" Lucci asked Malfoy. The pale Slytherin managed an incredulous stare, although it was nowhere near as impressive as it would have been if he hadn't been training all day.

"You don't know what a troll is?" he asked.

"Obviously not, or I wouldn't be asking," Lucci said.

"A troll is a giant humanoid creature," Malfoy said. "They are immune to a lot of spells and are _extremely _dangerous. And one of them is in the castle..."

Dumbledore stood up at the head table. "Quiet!" he commanded. "Heads of Houses, take your students to their common rooms!"

"The Slytherin common room _is _in the dungeons," Malfoy muttered as the students started to leave the halls. "Shows how much he cares for us..."

"What, you mean you're actually going?" Lucci asked, already looking for an opportunity to slip away.

"And you aren't?" Malfoy asked. "No offense but... even you wouldn't stand much of a chance against a troll."

"Yes, well, it appears I have no choice in the matter. Hermione is missing... she may be in trouble."

"Why do you care so much about that _Mudblood?_" Malfoy sneered.

"She may be a Mudblood," Lucci replied evenly, "but she's also the only source of intelligent conversation around here. I would miss it if that source disappeared."

"Well, if you're going to go looking for her, I'm going with you," Malfoy said boldly.

"Whatever. Just stay out of my way," Lucci replied. The two Slytherins waited until Snape was distracted and slipped off down another corridor, almost crashing into Ron.

"Watch it!" Ron hissed, turning. As soon as he saw that two _Slytherins _had ran into him, his face adopted a sneer. "What do _you _want?"

"None of your business, _Weasel," _Malfoy replied coolly.

"Do you know where Hermione is?" Lucci asked, ignoring Malfoy.

"Maybe. What's it to you?" Ron sneered.

"She wasn't at the feast. It's possible that she could be in trouble because of the troll," Lucci replied, doing his best to control his temper. It wouldn't do for him to maul the Gryffindor in front of Malfoy.

"What's it to you?" Ron snapped.

Lucci rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's go," he said to Malfoy. The two Slytherins quickly walked along the corridor. Ron hurried to catch up, but trailed behind somewhat as if he didn't want to be seen walking with two Slytherins.

Before long they heard the sound of crying from a nearby room. Lucci ran in and saw Hermione trembling against the back of a stall, watching a giant hulking _thing _that was currently lumbering towards her. Lucci absent-mindedly noted that he was in a girls' bathroom, but his attention was mostly occupied with the giant creature in front of him.

The troll was huge, with the top of its head only a foot or so below the ceiling. It was dressed only in a loincloth and had thick brown skin. It carried a huge club and moved towards Hermione at a slow, lumbering walk.

Lucci didn't think, he acted. He leaped off the walls, quickly gaining height. Then he kicked the back of the troll's head as hard as he could without outright using Rankyaku.

The troll grunted and turned around to see what had struck it. It saw Lucci, who was still falling through the air and slashed out with its club. "Tekai!" Lucci gasped an instant before he was hit with the club.

The Slytherin was thrown through the air and slammed into one of the bathroom walls. He got up, shaking his head. His tekai had kept him safe from most of the damage, but he was still a bit stunned from his sudden flight.

The troll turned and saw Malfoy and Ron helping Hermione up. It lumbered towards them and raised its club to strike. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione shouted, desperately flicking her wand at the troll's club.

The troll grunted as it tried to lash out with the club. The club moved much more slowly because of the levitating charm, but it still moved. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Malfoy shouted, adding his own spell to the mix. Ron hesitated only a moment before shouting his own charm.

The club shot out of the troll's grasp and Lucci saw a chance. He leaped off the walls into the air and aimed a kick at the club. Malfoy and Hermione were smart enough to see what Lucci was going to do and they canceled their levitating charms. Ron didn't, but Malfoy hit his wand hand, disrupting the spell.

The club started to fall and Lucci hit it with a hard kick. The wooden length shot through the air and slammed into the troll's face. The immense humanoid fell to the ground with a resounding crash just as the door opened and professors stuck their heads in.

Lucci landed gracefully on the ground and, ignoring the professors, went over to his fellow students to see if they were alright.

"What were you thinking?" Professor Mcgonagall demanded. Her lips thinned as she saw the troll laying on the ground. "Wasn't it supposed to be in the dungeons, Severus?"

"That's what Quarrel told me," Snape replied, looking as cool and calm as ever. "I would like to know what you were doing away from the rest of your house mates, however."

"Hermione wasn't-" Lucci began.

"We went looking-" Malfoy said at the same time.

"The troll-" Ron said.

"I was-" Hermione said as well.

Somehow the teachers managed to get the gist of the story despite all four students talking at once. "Detention to the lot of you!" Professor Mcgonagall snapped once they were finished. "Perhaps that will teach you to think before going off on your own!"  
"But Professor-" Hermione started to protest, but Ron just shook his head at her and she trailed off.

"Twenty points from Slytherin," Snape said acidly. "How could you have been so stupid as to face a full-grown troll on your own?"

_It wasn't that hard to knock unconscious, actually, _Lucci thought. However, he kept silent as he doubted that the teachers would want to know his views on the matter.

"And twenty points from Gryffindor," Professor Mcgonagall said. "And I'll have you know that I'm most displeased with the lot of you! Now off to bed!"

The four students went off to their various common rooms, where they would attempt to sleep, although the two Gryffindors were kept up late into the night telling tales of their adventures.


	7. Mental Battles

A/N Hey everyone. There is a fairly large time skip between last chapter and this one... just warning you all. Enjoy!

The days up until Christmas passed fairly quickly for Lucci. Every day was basically the same; Lucci would get up early and train Malfoy, then head down for a quick breakfast before going on to classes. Classes were fairly boring, although the DADA stuff looked like it could be useful. The rest of them though... History of Magic was particularly useless.

There was the occasional Quidditch practice or game, but Lucci found them fairly easy for the most part. He had taken on the post of Chaser and was extremely good at it. He had gotten a Nimbus Two Thousand a few days after Halloween and it was extremely responsive to him.

In the past month, Lucci's scar kept acting up. It was just little twinges of pain, but it was happening, making Lucci wonder what was going on with it. He looked up curse scars in the library, but could find nothing that seemed to pertain to his particular affliction.

Tsume had continued to grow rapidly. Lucci thought that she was growing faster than a regular leopard should, as she was already about three quarters of the size of an adult female. Her fur was also acquiring a silver tinge and seemed to be shifting from its yellow color to silver. Her eyes seemed to be getting a bit lighter, but perhaps that was just his imagination. Tsume definitely wasn't a normal leopard.

On the morning of Christmas, Lucci got up after the sun came up which was extremely unusual for him. He sighed. _I guess I won't be getting much training in this morning... _They did have the day off, though, so he wasn't really missing a day.

Lucci looked at the pile of presents at the foot of his bed and shrugged. He may as well get through them now. He was just opening the first one when Draco started moving about. Before long, the other Slytherin was also looking at his presents.

Lucci got a book (of course) on magical cats from Hermione. He wondered if she had also spotted the changes in Tsume; perhaps she had given him the book to help him figure out what Tsume was. He also received a set of new boots that looked like they had some kind of enchantments on them from Draco. Lucci set those aside to consider later.

The vast majority of the remaining presents were various trinkets and sweets from the other Slytherins who were obviously hoping to win his favor. Ron had sent him a bracelet that was quite obviously cursed, which Lucci set aside for later examination. Perhaps he could make use of it at some point. Another notable gift was a rough wooden flute from Hagrid. Lucci sighed and set that one aside as well.

Finally, only two gifts were left. Lucci opened the next one and a silvery-gray cloak fell out. It was made of a light material and had some extremely strong enchantments on it. "Hey, Draco," Lucci called out. "Do you have any idea what this is?" He tossed the other Slytherin the cloak.

Draco reached out and easily snagged it. "Well, this is quite a find," he remarked. "It's an invisibility cloak. They're extremely rare and rather valuable. I wonder who gave it to you?"

"There was a note that came with the package," Lucci remarked. "Hmm... 'This belonged to your father. Use it well.' There's no signature."

"Weird," Draco said. He tossed the cloak back to Lucci. The feline hesitated for a moment before putting it on. He looked in the mirror and just saw a floating head, with no body at all. An evil smirk crossed his lips before he quickly erased it. _I can think of several uses for this... _

_**Later that night**_

Lucci sat at the feast, once again completely and utterly bored. He estimated that there was still about a half hour to go until the students would be dismissed. It couldn't come soon enough.

Lucci was contemplating talking to Draco to alleviate his boredom when he felt the sudden inclination to look up into Dumbledore's eyes. He frowned; why did he want to look up? Lucci felt a sudden anger welling up inside him. _How dare that filthy wizard cast a spell on my Lucci! Stay away from him! MINE!_

Lucci clutched his head, trying to figure out where the anger was coming from. The compulsion to look up was stronger than ever, and now yet another force was fighting back against it. That, coupled with the fact that he was feeling irrationally angry, overwhelmed him. His scar had also started to itch somewhat. It didn't hurt, but it definitely did itch.

"Harry?" he dimly heard Draco say. "Are you all right?"

Lucci could barely hear the other Slytherin and he clenched his teeth together, narrowing his eyes. _ALL OF YOU GET OUT! _He screamed at the presences in his mind. He pushed at the one that felt the most invading and managed to get it out. The compulsion vanished.

The third one, the last to join vanished almost at the same time. It was almost as if it didn't have the strength to continue staying in Lucci's mind, so it left.

The second one, the one that was fighting back against the compulsion seemed to meld together with the source of the anger and Lucci realized they were the same. _Sorry... _the presence whispered before also leaving.

Lucci took a deep, shuddering breath, completely unaware of the looks the other Slytherins were giving him. _What was that? _He wondered. The presences had all felt vaguely familiar. None of them seemed that friendly, although the last presence to leave seemed to at least be his ally. He had his suspicions about the other two, but they would have to wait.

Up at the staff, table, Dumbledore bare concealed his bewilderment behind his twinkling eyes. _What was that? _He wondered. It had almost been as if there had been three minds inside the boys' head, two actively fighting against him, and then the third, who he thought was the only one that was actually Harry, shouted at them to get out and actually had the strength to push the Headmaster out.

_I wonder if he knows Occlumency, _Dumbledore thought briefly. But no, that was impossible! The boy had never even heard of magic before he got his letter. There was no way he could have learned Occlumency already.

Dumbledore sighed and decided that he would call Harry to his office later. He could try again to plant the compulsion to go find the Mirror of the Erised. He needed to know what made that boy tick! He was a mystery, and Dumbledore didn't like mysteries.

On his way back to the common room, he was handed a piece of paper by a random Ravenclaw. "The Headmaster said to give you this," the boy said, his eyes darting around him while he shifted his feet awkwardly.

Lucci nodded and took the note. _"Come to my office," _it said. Lucci sighed and went off to find a portrait to ask directions to Dumbledore's office.

A few minutes later, Lucci stood outside the Headmaster's office while he was scowling at a gargoyle that refused to move. "Move!" he snapped at it. The creature stubbornly remained still and Lucci swore that it was _smirking _at him!

"What are you doing, Potter?" a smooth voice came from behind him. Lucci spun around and found himself face-to-face with Snape. "Would you perhaps be trying to break into the Headmaster's office?" he continued.

"The Headmaster summoned me but neglected to tell me the password," he replied coolly, refusing to let this man anger him. "Perhaps you know it?"

"The password is "Chocolate Cauldrons", Potter," Snape said, sneering. "Curfew is in two hours. You'd better be back in your dorm by then..."

"Yes, _Professor _Snape," Lucci replied, putting as much disdain as he could into the word "Professor". He didn't feel like this man was worthy of being a professor at all. At least the other teachers actually _taught. _

Snape snorted and walked away, his robes billowing after him. "Chocolate Cauldrons," Lucci said to the gargoyle. The stone creature seemed to eye him for a moment before springing aside, revealing a set of moving spiral steps.

Lucci started up the steps and finally came to the door at the top. He knocked and heard a muffled, "enter" from within.

After opening the door, Lucci was greeted with a strange sight. The Headmaster's office was a mess. There was a desk at one end and quite a few shelves. Every inch of available shelf and desk space was covered with strange looking devices. Quiet whirrs and clicks buzzed in the quiet room.

The Headmaster himself was sitting behind his desk. He had looked up expectantly when Lucci knocked and now he stood. "Ah, Harry, my boy," he began. Lucci felt immediate dislike of the man, but masked it behind calm features.

"What did you want?" he asked directly. Once again he suddenly felt the need to look up into the man's eyes. _Stay out you meddling old man! _A voice hissed in his mind. The compulsion abruptly vanished and the second presence left. _Why does this keep happening to me? _Lucci wondered, suppressing the urge to rub his eyes tiredly.

Dumbledore continued smiling, although his twinkle had faded slightly as the compulsion was thrown off. _It's you, isn't it? _Lucci thought. _You're the one trying to cast compulsions on me! How dare you! _

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about your academics," Dumbledore said, projecting the image of "grandfatherly old man" with everything he had. "Professor Snape has expressed concern."

Lucci snorted. "And you believe him? Snape hates me. I have done nothing wrong in his class. In fact I believe that I am doing quite well, as well as Hermione in fact."

"_Professor _Snape has said that you are an unruly presence in class. In fact, he said that you got into a duel with Ronald Weasley last class. This kind of behavior can not go on," Dumbledore continued.

Lucci stood up, his eyes abruptly angry and his posture stiff. "Ronald tried to hex me first," he retorted. "If I didn't respond someone would have gotten hurt! He nearly hit Bulstrode with that hex!" It would not be the first time that Snape had twisted events to make it seem as if Lucci was at fault. Despite the fact that Snape seemed to love Slytherins, he seemed to hate Lucci. He just never took points, but assigned detentions instead.

"That's not what Professor Snape said," Dumbledore continued. Lucci felt another consciousness brush his thoughts and this time he thought that it was the Headmaster. He pushed his memories of the confrontation and practically gave them to Dumbledore. The old man _must _have seen them, but continued speaking like nothing had happened. "He said that you added an ingredient to Ron's cauldron which ruined his potion and then Ron reacted."

"And why is it that you're only blaming _me _for this then?" Lucci retorted. "Ron should have just let a teacher handle it! If that is all you have to say to me, then I am leaving. Good night, Professor!" He had to leave this room right now or he might do something that he might regret. He hadn't felt this angry in a long time; something about Dumbledore let the old man get under his skin. Lucci didn't know why, but he savagely hated the man with a passion.

Lucci spun around and pulled the door open, his touch dispelling the locking charm on it like it wasn't even there. He stormed out of the office and Dumbledore stared after him, sighing.

"How did he know?" Dumbledore asked out loud. "How could he have sensed it? It's impossible that he knows Occlumency... yet he pushed me out of his mind and even managed to dispell the locking charm!"

Fawkes chirped at his bonded man warningly, but Dumbledore ignored the bird once again. _If he keeps doing this I am going to leave! _He thought savagely. _The boy-who-lived may carry darkness inside of him but at least he doesn't try to manipulate others like my bonded! How could he have changed so much? Dumbledore wasn't like this when I first bonded him... _Fawkes sighed and decided to give the man one more chance. If the Headmaster changed his plans about manipulating the boy into confronting Voldemort, then perhaps Fawkes would stay. If not, then he would leave and find someone else who would be better suited to having a phoenix.

A/N Like it? Love it? Review it!


	8. Boredom

A/N Here's the next chapter. This was very fun to write. And for those of you who are wondering about Fawkes, I haven't really decided what to do with him yet. Wherever he goes, he is not going to Lucci, but he might end up with Hermione or a Slytherin. He might also leave altogether. I really haven't decided.

_**A few days after Christmas Break**_

Draco sighed grumpily. His day had not been going well. In DADA Quarrel had stuttered even more than usual and singled him out, asking him some extremely random questions about his exploits in Albania. His attitude towards class seemed to change wildly and one day he would actually teach, while the next he would ask pointless questions about how he defeated this vampire or that. In Charms, he had been unable to perform a simple cleaning charm that was supposed to clean up dust. He had no idea why, but he thought he was getting sick. Also, in Potions, the Weasel had somehow managed to slip something into his cauldron, making it blow up in his face.

He managed to get out of the infirmary in time for dinner, but it was already mostly over. On top of that, he could swear he was getting sick.

Currently, he was walking down a random corridor, trying to get to the Great Hall by the quickest route possible. Unfortunately, he did not see the hex that hit him in the back. Draco barely held back a shriek as his front teeth started growing rapidly. "Finite Incantatem!" he said quickly, pointing his wand at his mouth while turning around. Thankfully, his teeth returned to normal.

Unfortunately, the Weasel and his friends were standing at one end of the corridor. Weasely, Dean and Seamus were all there. "What do you want, Weasel?" Draco drawled, watching Weasely's face turn as red as his air with amusement.

"_S-stupefy!"_ Weasely shouted, pointing his wand at Draco. _That's what, a fourth year spell? How does he know that already? _Draco thought, panicking. He knew he wouldn't be able to conjure up a shield that would be strong enough to block the fourth year spell. So, he did what he had been learning to do in the mornings. He dodged.

Draco stepped sideways and the red spell darted through the space that he had just occupied. Weasely looked shocked, as if he hadn't realized that spells could be dodged. _Idiot Gryffindor, _Draco thought irritably before starting to run towards the group of three students.

They all looked surprised at a Slytherin acting like a Gryffindor, giving Draco the advantage of surprise. He knocked the legs out from underneath the Weasel. The red-headed Gryffindor gave an undignified yelp as he fell, blindly trying to grasp his attacker, but Draco had already moved onto Dean.

The Slytherin delivered a solid kick to Dean's chest, sending him staggering backwards. With one smooth movement he dodged the hex that Seamus had finally fired at him, moving forwards at the same time and grabbing the Gryffindor, throwing him at Ron who had started to rise.

The two boys went down in an ungainly heap and Draco took off down the corridor. By the time the Gryffindors had recovered from the attack, Draco was long gone.

"Damn him!" Weasely growled, his ears flaming red from embarrassment. "This has gone beyond a simple rivalry! I'll make him _pay!_"

Dean and Seamus watched him, somewhat concerned as he continued to rant. He was practically frothing at the mouth and completely ready to take on Malfoy again.

"Mate, maybe you should reconsider?" Dean asked. "At least do some research first."

Ron shuddered slightly at the thought of going into the library once more. The intense study session to learn _Stupefy _had been bad enough. He didn't want to go back into that... that _place. _He sighed grudgingly, thoughts of getting revenge gone for the moment. "Fine, fine. Let's go."

The three Gryffindors headed off down to the library in hopes that they could somehow get the Slytherin. This was now _personal. _

_**Lucci **_

Lucci unsuccessfully attempted to cover a yawn. He didn't know how anyone could possibly make it through Binns' class without sleeping. Hermione was the only one taking notes, that was for sure. Draco was doing his best to stay awake, although both Crabbe and Goyle were sleeping. Parkinson and Greengrass were passing notes and giggling quietly. Zabini was doing other homework and Nott was rapidly scribbling something on a piece of paper.

Lucci blinked as said piece of paper ended up on his desk. He considered not unfolding it, but he might as well. It wasn't like Binns would notice. He opened it and started trying to decipher the messy scrawl that filled the inside.

After a few minutes, he had only made out a few words. He pulled out another piece of parchment and started copying down the message, thinking that it might help him decode it.

About ten minutes later, he thought he knew what the message was saying. It still wasn't quite right in a few places, but he could get the gist of it.

_ Hey, Harry. I'm so bbbbbred over here. Nbbne else is doing anything lnteresting. Hgve I mentioned thgt I'm bbred? Bgjre when l'm bggn bored in class I've plgyed a rble-playing game with Blgise. But hg doesnlt wgnt to play. Wbuld ypu llke to?_

_-Thgbdbre_

_ So he wants me to play some kind of game with him? Why not? It can't be more bored than this stupid lecture about goblin wars, _Lucci thought. He turned the piece of parchment over and scribbled his own note, tossing it over to Nott's desk.

The boy grinned and opened it, frowning when he saw the reply. He nibbled on the end of his quill for a moment before tearing off a fresh piece of parchment and writing back.

Lucci opened up the note and sighed. The handwriting was _somewhat _neater, but it was still somewhat hard to read.

_ I protest! My handwriting is not awful! I'll have you know it is much better than Blaise's. And how can you _not _know what a role-playing game is? Basically you pretend to be someone in another world. The normal genre is fantasy, but it can be anything, really. I'll be GMing, of is your name? _

_-T_

_ Your handwriting is awful. I would not like to see Zabini's handwriting if it is worse than yours. What is a "GM"? And my name is Harry... I thought you knew that. _

_-H_

Lucci rolled up the piece of paper and tossed it over to Nott's desk. The other Slytherin chuckled when he read his reply. Within minutes, a new piece of paper had found its way to Lucci's desk.

_GM: Game Master. They're kinda like God in whatever world. They control monsters, loot, that sort of thing. And by "what is your name" I meant, "what is your character's name". Oh, and if you want you can play a female character. There's no need to stay male if you don't want to. _

_-T_

_ I... see. Very well, then, my name is Lucci. That's pronounced Lu-chi, in case you don't know. And I'm male. Next question?_

_-H_

_ Hmm... well, the world I have going with Blaise right now is a fantasy-ish world, so I'll just put you in there. We probably won't be able to finish character creation this class, but after we do you can join Blaise's party. Daphne and Pansy also have characters, but they don't play as often as Blaise. In any case, what is your class? (That's basically your job, in case you don't know. And you can be... a wizard, warrior, priest, ranger, elementalist, paladin, or monk.)_

_-T_

_ Could you explain more about what each one can do? _

_-H_

_ Sure. Wizards use magic, mostly long-ranged stuff. They can't wear metal, though, because it interferes with their magic. Their magic is general, like ours. Warriors are straight-up bash 'n whackers. They just fight with weapons, no magic at all. Priests are healers, they channel their God's powers and heal people, they generally have some kind of long-ranged magic attack as well, although some people play priests that can also fight. _

_ Rangers are basically archers. They use bows and can use some small nature magics, like hiding themselves out in the forests, or talking to animals. Elementalists are like wizards, except that they only use one element (water, earth, fire, air) and the more powerful ones have bodies made out of their element. Paladins are warriors that can heal, they're very tough but are rather slow. Monks fight with their bare hands and have some magic that allows them to enhance their speed and strength. _

_ Any other questions? _

_-T_

_ Hmm... I think I'll be a monk. What next? _

_-H_

Lucci grinned slightly as he tossed the note over to Nott's desk. This looked like it could be fun. At least it would be something to do during the mind-numbingly boring classes. Within minutes, the next note landed on his desk.

_Well, let's see... as you're a Monk you don't have to worry about specific powers. Hmm, what do you look like? _

_-T_

Lucci was about to start writing a reply when he realized that people around him were packing up their stuff and that class was over. Nott had gone over to talk to Greengrass, Parkinson, and Zabini, no doubt telling them that he would be joining their "party", whatever that meant.

He smiled slightly as he went out the door, heading off to lunch.

"So, Lucy," Zabini said, greeting Lucci. "I hear you're going to be a Monk."

"The name is Lucci," Lucci retorted. "And yes, I will be a Monk. What are you guys?"

"Well, I'm a Ranger," he replied. "Pansy's an Air Elementalist and Daphne's a Priest. I'm glad that we're finally going to have some muscle in our party. Last time we almost got killed on a raid because we didn't have anyone who could take a lot of damage."

"I see. The plan isn't to get hit... I plan on dodging most of the attacks. Isn't that the smart course of action?" Lucci replied.

Zabini shrugged. "Yeah, well, that's how we usually do it, but robes aren't that good for blocking damage and magic uses don't have good dex. As a Ranger, I did alright, but for the magic users, one good crit on the monster's side and you're almost dead. Daphne nearly got killed by a kobold crit last session. Luckily, she was able to heal herself and we were able to beat back the little buggers."

"I see... what is a crit? And what is this dex?"

"Dex is dexterity. It's basically how flexible you are, and also involves with how good you are at dodging. A crit is a really good or bad hit. Usually the word "crit" refers to a critical hit, which is good. Critical misses are usually referred to by their full name."

"I see." Lucci sat down at his spot at the end of the Slytherin table. "So what are all of your guys' names in the world?"

"Well, Theodore's the GM as he probably already told you. I'm Yaera. I'm playing a female character this time around to get the extra dex points. Pansy's playing a male character, Xaveren. Daphne is Ashyrina."

"So you get stat increases depending on what gender you are?"

"Yeah. Females get extra dex and intelligence, males get extra strength and endurance." Zabini shrugged, loading his plate with potatoes. "As a Ranger, I can't use the extra intelligence as well, but the dex is worth it."

"I see," Lucci said. Perhaps the rest of the year wouldn't be as boring as he'd feared.

A/N Like it? Love it? Review it!


	9. What Shall Come to Pass

A/N Sorry for the wait, but my muse wasn't cooperating with me. Anyway, it's here now. Enjoy the chapter!

Lucci paused outside Quarrel's office. He had come by there in order to ask the teacher something about the homework. He thought that the textbook strategy to be used against trolls to be absolutely ridiculous, but no one was interested in listening to him as they just wanted to get their homework done.

Lucci frowned. He could hear voices from inside the office, but they were too faint for him to hear. He raised his wand and cast a basic listening charm that he'd picked up in the library. Instantly, the voices came into focus.

"-will get it immediately," Quarrel said in a quavering tone. He sounded like he was afraid to death of whoever he was talking to.

"You better. Or else you will face my wrath again. And you wouldn't want that, would you, Quarrel?" a second voice asked. This one sounded malicious and inhuman. It sounded like someone's voice when they were in a Zoan form, somewhat tainted by the creature that they had become. This one sounded like he had eaten a Snake Devil Fruit, but that couldn't be.

_Perhaps some dark ritual...? _Lucci wondered. He had already found references to dark magic that could change your appearance. Unfortunately, all of the books talking about dark magic were in the restricted section, so he was unable to peruse them.

"No, Master!" Quarrel said quickly. "I will get it as soon as he leaves! I promise!"

"Good. See that you do..." the snake-like voice trailed off into silence and Lucci heard footsteps approaching the door.

He didn't hesitate for a moment, but canceled the listening charm and pulled his invisibility cloak out of his pocket. He never went anywhere without it. He managed to throw it over his head and conceal his form just as the door opened.

Quarrel strode out into the hallway, frowning as he looked both ways. His turban was on messily, and Lucci thought he could see flesh underneath the back. Flesh that didn't look like the back of a skull. Perhaps the turban was hiding some horrible deformity?

"Must have been my imagination," Quarrel said after a moment. He turned and walked back into his office. Lucci let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. It had been too long since he had done this kind of work. This should have been extremely simple. He even had an invisibility cloak!

Lucci sighed, shaking his head. He walked quietly back down to the Slytherin common room. There was no question in his mind that he could talk to Quarrel now. The man would be suspicious, thinking that someone had been listening in. If he showed up now, Quarrel would naturally suspect him.

_**Late May**_

Lucci headed down to breakfast with the rest of his house-mates for once. This would have been more unusual except that he, Blaise, Pansy, Daphne, and Theodore had been up late the night before, role-playing When Draco had tried to wake him, the feline had promptly told him to go away and he went back to sleep.

Lucci had to wonder what the young Malfoy thought sometimes. Certainly, that hadn't been expected. But Draco took it in stride and went back to bed. So, now, Lucci still felt half-asleep and was feeling tired just from listening to the chatter of his house-mates

He sat down in his usual place and saw his now usual group sitting down next to him. As soon as Draco sat down, Blaise started pestering him, telling him that he should join them in their game. Draco, as usual, attempted to tune the other boy out and was only partially successful.

"I told you to shut up!" he said irritably while reaching for more pancakes. "Do you have to go one about that game every single time we're together?"

"Yes he does," Lucci replied. "It's in his nature. He can't help being annoying. It's why Yaera always argues with everyone so much."

"Yaera doesn't argue that much!" Blaise protested indignantly. "Not really!"

"Yes she does!" everyone replied.  
"It's her fault that the goblins noticed us! I wouldn't think she was a Ranger if all I had to go by was how loud she was!" Pansy protested.

"It's not like you were helping!" Blaise retorted. "In fact-" he was cut off as he turned into a purple frog. The frog croaked indignantly and looked around for the culprits.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Fred and George high-fived each other A moment later, all of the Slytherins except for Lucci turned into various amphibians, all of which were some neon color or another.

"I told you not to eat the pancakes, Draco," Lucci said, calmly sipping a glass of pumpkin juice. His eyes widened and he spat out the juice and shot a glare at Fred and George. "I thought you said you weren't going to prank me?" he muttered.

The entire Gryffindor table started laughing. Lucci sighed as he felt himself transforming. He should have noticed that the pumpkin juice was hexed. Surprisingly, he turned into a cat. A small cat, quite unlike his third Zoan form.

He raced across the hall towards Fred and leaped at the boy's face, hissing and spitting.

Fred tried to fend off the cat while staring at his brother pleadingly.

"Oh no. This is your fault. I'm not getting involved in this," George said, backing away. "I told you it wasn't a good idea to turn him into something that had claws."

"Help meeee!" Fred wailed, racing out of the hall with Lucci the cat darting after him.

Then George noticed the prodigious amount of amphibians going towards him. He turned and ran out of the hall as fast as he could, the Slytherins hot on his tail.

The Gryffindors were still chuckling as they left the table to head up to their first class. The first years were unfortunate enough to have potions. They noticed a distinct lack of Slytherins, although both Harry and Draco were there.

"Served you right, slimy Slytherin!" Ron spat at Harry as he walked past the other boy. Harry ignored him. He appeared to be in deep thought and didn't even seem to notice the Gryffindor's presence.

"Quiet down," Snape said, striding up to his desk at the front of the room. "Weasley, ten points from Gryffindor for talking. Thomas, fifteen points for passing notes. Today, we will-" he was interrupted as the door opened and a second year Hufflepuff walked in.

"Sorry for interrupting," she said, looking terrified as Snape leveled his glare upon her. "But Professor Dumbledore told me to tell Harry to go to his office!" Her voice rose into a squeak on the last work and she fled from the room as soon as she was finished with the message.

Harry sighed and started packing his stuff away. As soon as his back was turned, Ron shot a hex at him, muttering the incantation under his breath. Harry bent over to pick up something that had rolled out of his bag and the curse went over his bent back to hit Dean in the chest.

The other Gryffindor fell backwards, cursing as slugs started to come out of his mouth. Harry continued on out of the classroom as if nothing had happened.

Ron scowled as he begin to work on the assigned potion. Snape had docked twenty points from him and Dean each for fighting before sending Dean to the infirmary. Currently, Snape was peering over Ron's shoulder, watching his attempts to make the potion.

Ron thought he saw Malfoy throw something into his cauldron an instant before it exploded, sending yellow goo all over the classroom. Students cried out and ducked, but most got hit. Wherever the liquid touched, a horrible rash sprang up. Snape himself would have gotten covered if he hadn't formed a nonverbal shield in time. He looked furious.

"Weasley, fifty points from Gryffindor. Everyone who got splattered, go to the infirmary. Now!" He barked the last and glared at the few students who weren't too injured to continue class until they fled also. Then he sat down and sighed, wondering why he had to teach such idiotic students.

_**Lucci**_

Lucci paused at the gargoyle. He sighed and realized that the Headmaster had neglected to tell him the password. He glared at it irritably for a moment before realizing that he might be able to get it to move anyway. He closed his eyes, placing a hand upon its head.

Lucci could sense the energy flowing through the gargoyle. After about five minutes, he found the power flows that would send it springing to the side. He scowled as he reached out and twisted them, moving them into a new configuration. The gargoyle immediately leaped aside and Lucci started climbing up the strange spiraling stairs that led to the Headmaster's office.

"Enter!" the old wizard called out even before Lucci had knocked. Lucci entered and looked at the old man.

"Why have you called me here?" he asked. "I should be in Potions right now."

"Yes, I am aware of that. Sit down, my boy," Dumbledore said, gesturing to a chair.

Lucci warily sat down. He didn't take his eyes off the headmaster, not trusting him for an instant. "I am not your boy," he said icily. "And I would thank you if you didn't call me that."

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling behind his spectacles. "In any case, I've called you here to ask you if you have been on the third floor corridor recently."

"I'm not an idiot, _Professor,_" Lucci snapped. "Of course not."

"Ah, yes, you see someone has... intruded. And, well, it would be _most unfortunate _if that individual were not... caught."

"You mean someone managed to break past your "powerful" protections and steal the Sorcerer's Stone. I see. Not my problem." This was delivered in an irritated monotone.

"You knew?" Dumbledore's voice held a tinge of surprise. If the boy knew, then why hadn't he acted? He was supposed to get the Stone! If he really hadn't gotten it... then Voldemort must have succeeded... Things looked like they had gone from bad to worse.

"Obviously," Lucci replied scornfully. _With the amount of hints you dropped, is there any way that I couldn't have known? It was obvious that you were trying to get me to do something. _"Now, if that's all, I have a class to attend." He stood up and started walking towards the door.

Lucci paused as Fawkes landed on his shoulder. The phoenix trilled in his ear and he hesitatingly raised a finger and started to stroke the brilliant plumage. He couldn't stop a smile from forming on his face when the phoenix rubbed its head against his finger.

*Indeed, you would make a far better familiar than Dumbledore,***** he heard a voice in his mind say. *But I see that you are already claimed by another. I will have to find someone else. Perhaps Hermione would do well?*****

_I'm already claimed? _The voice was obviously Fawkes. _By who? Does this have to do with the two voices I hear in my head on a regular basis? _

_ *_Ah, you don't know?***** Lucci got the impression that the phoenix was laughing at him. *Yes, indeed. I believe her name is Tsume... very territorial, that one. I suggest you pay attention. The old coot is talking to you again.*****

The phoenix leaped off Lucci's shoulder to land on his perch. Dumbledore started talking again, something about how Fawkes liked Lucci. Fawkes almost laughed out loud at that. True, he liked the boy, if Lucci could truly be called a boy. But the boy was already claimed. Dumbledore was just too blind to see that.

And it was apparent that Dumbledore was also too blind to see that Lucci was no ordinary wizard. It appeared that he had other forces protecting his mind, for which Fawkes was glad. He imagined that people would react very strangely if the boy's secret got out.

Fawkes stopped paying attention as Lucci left and Dumbledore began talking to himself again about manipulating Lucci. He vanished in a burst of phoenix-fire and reappeared high above the castle. He landed on one of the highest points of the castle and raised his head. A burst of joyous song came out of his throat and he sung at the moon, his eyes closed.

Before long, other phoenixes appeared around him. A beautiful blue and black phoenix alighted next to him. *For what purpose have you called us, my King?***** He asked.

*Indeed. I would like to know that also,***** a beautiful white phoenix said, her eyes a glittering silver.

*Wait until everyone is here,***** Fawkes replied. He continued singing and more phoenixes appeared. Soon, the air was packed with them and they started to land. *This is still not everyone, but no more will come,***** Fawkes said sadly. *If any of you see those who have not come, pass this news onto them. Dumbledore has grown corrupt. He is now as manipulative as the Slytherin he abhors.

** ***Since the time of Godric, we have always served his line, whether or not they knew it. However, within a few generations, they stopped calling upon us. We were forgotten, so we went and found others to bond with us, as the ancient magic required.

*However, the time approaches now. The youngest of this line, the so-called Harry Potter will have need of us once more! It is time that we stopped serving humans' selfish desires. _Seruiat, liber esto! Repéllet vincula vestra! _It is time that we were free once more. The Prophesized One has come! Your chains are now broken!

** ***I alone shall stay with Dumbledore. But he is not my familiar, know that. He is simply a means to an end... besides he tells me everything. But know that his plans are faulty and corrupt. The time when we shall fight against him and what he stands for is approaching quickly. Be ready!*** **Fawkes threw back his head and let loose a savage screech, full of promise. The rest of the phoenixes echoed his cry before disappearing in a flash of phoenix-fire.

Fawkes soared back down the Headmaster's room. His eyes glittered with something approaching hate as he looked at the old man. But he would fall, in time. They would all fall! Fawkes chuckled quietly to himself. The time was fast approaching when they would serve the heirs once more.

In her room, Trelawney woke up, covered in sweat. She shook from the terror of a nameless dream. **"The End approaches... Gryffindor and Slytherin, joined in partnership take on an ancient foe. The true Dark Lord will break free from her chains. The ancient Order will fall by the crow's hand. A leopard and basilisk come forwards to guide the Chosen One. Death will fight Death and Darkness will rule!"**

In the Department of Mysteries a new glass prophecy globe appeared. It was labeled simply "Harry Potter, Tom Marvolo Riddle, and The Dark Lord"

A/N There will be one more chapter before the end of this book. I will post the new book on the same story, so I guess you can think of it as more of the next part of the story than a separate book.

Like it? Love it? Review it!


	10. A New Life

A/N Well, here it is. The end of Book 1. This one was rather short, I know, but it just felt like it needed to end here. Whatever. Anyway, hopefully the next one will be longer. No guarantee on when I am going to update again, it will probably be in a while, as I don't really have anything planned for the second book. Until then, my faithful readers! Enjoy. :)

$parseltongue$

"Hey, Harry, wait up!" Draco called out after the other Slytherin. They had just come out of the last exam of the year, Transfiguration. Now they only had one day until they had to leave Hogwarts for the summer.

Lucci slowed down and waited for the pale boy to catch up. "What is it?" he asked.

"Well, you don't really have a place to stay for the summer, right?"

"I'm sure I'll make do," Lucci replied, shrugging.

"Yeah but you're essentially living in a nature park. Anyway, Father says that you can come over for the summer if you want."

Lucci stopped walking for a moment. Then he nodded. "Yeah, I think I'd like that." He turned to Draco and smiled one of his rare smiles, the kind almost never seen by anyone. Usually, they were sarcastic or mocking. This one was a true expression straight from his heart. "Thanks."

"No problem! That's what friends are for." Draco smiled back and the two continued into the Great Hall.

Later, Lucci sat in his dorm, staring at the wall. He felt almost... sad to leave Hogwarts, which was certainly strange for him. He'd never felt sad to leave a place before. He'd never formed true attachments before, but something about these boys just drew him in.

_Is this what it's like to have a childhood? _He wondered. It was nice, truly nice, to have friends that he could confide in. He didn't think he'd ever get used to showing positive emotions in public; years of experience made that too difficult. Still, though, here all of the Slytherins had a public mask. Lucci realized from looking back that he had developed one as well... or more accurately he had started to open up and let the rest of the Slytherins see his true self.

It was nice. He knew he should have hated his grandfather and the others around him for stealing that from him, but he couldn't bring himself to. It was in his past. The only things that he had that still connected him to CP9 was Rokushiki and his Zoan abilities.

This was his life now. He felt like he could move on past CP9 and his life there. This world... this was the one that mattered now.

Hermione stretched after her History of Magic exam. She thought she had done well, but she relaly should have studied more... there were a few questions that she hadn't been able to answer completely, and she thought that she had missed a few dates. Hopefully it wouldn't be enough to significantly impact her score.

"Hey, 'mione!" Ron called out to her as she was exiting the classroom.

Hermione turned around with a scowl. "I told you not to call me that. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to say that you probably did the best out of all of us. I know you were worrying about your History exam."

"Shove off, Ronald. I don't need your assurance," Hermione replied irritably, striding past him and down into the Hall. Sometimes she thought that all of her house-mates were idiots. Ron certainly was. She had already shown that she didn't like him, yet he still kept following her around like a lost puppy. It was irritating, to say the least.

Hermione sat down next to Parvati and the two girls started talking animatedly while other students streamed into the Hall from various houses.

Ron sat down next to Dean, scowling. Hermione was irritating him. Couldn't she see that Slytherins were all evil? Yet she was friends with one! It galled him. He scowled when his two twin brothers walked over and sat down on either side of him, pushing Dean away when he wouldn't move.

"Hey Ickle Ronnikins," Fred (or maybe George) began.

"Did you fail your test?" George (or maybe Fred) continued.

"Don't worry-"

"We probably-"

"did too."

"Do you want to help-"

"us test out one-"

"of our new products?"

Both twins sat there, grinning. Ron scowled at them. "No, I don't. Would you please go away?"

"Aww, is Ronniekins-"

"Pining over Hermione again?"

"I am _not _pining over her!" Ron snapped. "Now move!"

"Aww, you're no fun..."

"Harry is much better to talk to!"

Ron sat there scowling as the two older Gryffindors moved off to annoy someone else. Moments later he sighed as he saw his reflection in a silver bowl. His ears had lengthened, becoming like a rabbit's, and he appeared to have grown whiskers. His skin had also turned yellow.

Ron groaned and hoped that the Closing Feast would be over soon. He wondered how long it would take for _this _particular prank of the Twins would take to wear off.

Tsume meowed softly from beside Lucci's leg. Her amber eyes watched the proceedings as best as she could, scanning over the students. She was also ready to fight off any other probes aimed at her Lucci's mind.

She stretched, content with her place in life. She had a wonderful familiar and was starting to come into her true power. Even phoenixes respected that Lucci was her's. Fawkes had made a move on him but had then retreated. She had sensed an immense gathering of them over Hogwarts a few weeks ago and guessed that they were talking about Godric's will.

It was odd, as her kind originally served Rowena. She had saved their leaders' life, and so they had sworn allegiance to her. After that they had retreated to the high mountains, escaping from wizards and humans alike. However, Tsume had been captured when she was just a kitten, and then Lucci had bought her... strange, that they were so akin in spirit and body, when her familiar wished to be.

The only thing about her human was that he didn't have a split tail... but then neither did she, yet. She also still didn't have most of the powers of a Nekomata, being too young to control them. She had practiced making fireballs and found that she could, although they were weak. She couldn't talk, or fly, or shape-shift... yet. Hopefully she would be able to soon. It would be nice to be able to talk with Lucci.

Under the table, Tsume smiled a feline smile. Life was good.

Nagini reared up, hissing softly. She felt her master returning to her, although he came in a form that was not his own. He controlled someone's body, but he came. $Welcome...$ she hissed, slithering alongside him.

$It is good to be back...$ he murmured. $Soon, I will have a body of my own... soon!$ He opened his fist and dropped a glowing orange stone into a container. He smiled, a vicious, almost feral smile. $Life will be mine once more!$

Fawkes watched Dumbledore from his perch. Inside, he seethed with anger. The old man seemed to be worrying more about how to make Lucci into the perfect weapon than how to defeat Voldemort, as he would certainly rise again with the power of the Philosopher's stone.

If a bird could scowl, Fawkes would be scowling. Even he could feel the slow anger of Hogwarts at her headmaster. Dumbledore should have been the one who was the most sensitive to it, yet he didn't seem to notice a thing.

Fawkes sighed and closed his eyes, wishing that he didn't have to be here with the old coot and that he could rejoin his people while making war plans. It seemed that that would not happen, though. He sighed.

Deep underneath the earth, beneath the ancient formation called Stonehenge, a power slept. It had been sleeping for centuries, bound by chains of power created by the ancestral Order of the Phoenix.

But now it was stirring. It struggled, ever so slightly against the power that held it. It could feel that the time was near. The bonds that had held it were fraying from the wearing of time. It was ready... to break free and walk the Earth once more!

_**End of Book 1**_

_**The story will continue in Book 2: The New Prophecy**_


	11. Trapped

**_I'm alive! Sorry for the long gap but I didn't really have any ideas. After posting this I'm going to go and tweak the prophecy a bit so you might want to go back and look at that. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. _**

She tugged against the chains, doing her best to break them, to break free. She had been doing this for far too long. Ah, if only the legend that she had tried to pass down had stayed within the minds of her descendants! But this was no time for that.

She tugged again, fighting to break free, forced to watch as _he _killed and burned. It was truly torture. A growl would have risen in her throat, if she'd had a throat. Damn that Order! She would see them _destroyed! _

She did not know how long she struggled in the darkness, alone and bereft of the Garden that was her right. Then, finally, this fierce orange... presence_.. _pierced through the darkness surrounding her. It would not have been right to call it _light, _for it was not light. Rather, it was as if it was made up of raw magic, if that made any sense, that such a beam could exist in her prison.

She cried out then, as the beam struck her. A moment later, she was ripped forwards brutally. Pain spiked throughout her entire body, as if she were being consumed by some malignant entity. A moment later, however, the pain was gone.

She opened her eyes for the first time in what must have been at least five hundred years. Her lips stretched into a predatory smirk. "Ah, to _see,_" she breathed. "Truly, a wonder. I have missed this!" She laughed then, a cruel sound that bespoke of hidden madness. "I'm _alive!_ Gods, yes! I am returned to life on Lunasa! Ha, how very fitting!"

_Lucci_

Lucci was violently awakened sometime in the hours before dawn during the first of August. His teeth clenched as what felt like a whole other mind was violently _hammered _into his skull. Almost as if someone was literally pounding nails into his head in the same part of it where his scar was.

His scar in particular burned like it was on fire. He was quite sure that it was bleeding, although he supposed he'd worry about that later. A few muffled groans managed to tear their way out of his throat, but he stayed mostly silent. He'd be damned if he let anyone, even Draco, catch him in a moment of such weakness!

Then the pain was gone. He dimly noticed Tsume looking at him in wordless concern and he waved a hand at her, trying to tell her that he was fine. He shakily stood up and wished, not for the first time, that wizards had actual clocks that told the time without having to go through a complicated process of figuring it out by the location of the stars and moon. Technology existed for a reason.

Lucci walked over to the sink and splashed his face with cold water. He glanced in the mirror and noted that though he didn't think his appearance had changed any, something seemed... different. He couldn't quite tell what it was. He frowned. Did it have something to do with his aura, or something? He'd read that all magical beings have an aura that is unique to them. Did the pain have something to do with his aura suddenly changing?

Lucci sighed and shook his head, figuring that he'd go raid the library for books on the topic later. For now... he dropped back onto his bead with a thump. Tsume leaped up beside him and curled up into a tight ball. It really was a miracle how cats could do that... they managed to make everything _fit. _One of the reasons he liked cats. Of course it could just be that he was practically a cat himself and therefore biased. Naw.

After a few minutes of this rather random train of thought about cats, Lucci stood up again, figuring that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. His body seemed too alive with energy for that. Strange, it seemed to energetic in general, like his energy levels had suddenly gone up. No, he must be imagining things. Something else to look up in the library, though.

So, he headed off to the library. He was about to quietly close the door behind him when Tsume leaped down from the bed and pushed her way through. Lucci eyed her for a moment before closing the door and setting off towards the library.

The only sounds that could be heard in the house at this early hour was Lucci's breathing and the almost inaudible sound of Tsume's paws on the ground. Lucci was walking silently by long-enforced habit. He automatically tried to breath more quietly. Old habits died hard, he supposed.

Once he located the library, he promptly found a book about magic levels and settled down to a nice, long reading session. Tsume sat in front of him like a silent sentinel, apparently determined to act as a guard. _But to guard me from what? _He wondered. He trusted Tsume's instincts; that cat was too smart for her own good. Something weird was definitely going on here in any case. _But what could there possibly be in the Malfoy Manor? _

_Somewhere... _

"Well, this is new," the man said dryly. "Haven't been chained in _ages. _Such a refreshing experience." He was in fact chained, with great iron things as thick around as his forearms. There was nothing to be seen except darkness, even to his eyes which had been augmented by dark rituals and could see in the dark. It was obviously not a natural darkness.

"You know, this sucks," he remarked to the darkness. "Just as I finally get my body back I'm ousted from it by some insane spirit."

Suddenly he became aware of a presence in the darkness. He still couldn't see anything, but he could almost _feel _her (he couldn't quite explain how he knew it was a her). If he had to describe it, he would say it was... silver. Cool and calm like a lake, but at the same time bursting with barely controlled energy.

"Hello, stranger," the presence said quietly. Again, he did not quite hear her words with his ears as much as _feel _them, almost as if they reverberated throughout his whole body and he did not even need his brain to interpret them.

"Hello...?" the man asked hesitantly. "Are you trapped here, too?"

He got a strong feeling of mirth from the presence and realized she was laughing at him. "Oh, no... it is quite hard to trap a nekomata and in any case I have done nothing to be chained by L-our host's mind."

"So we're in someone else's mind?" the man asked. "Well, that makes sense. Seems like I'd have more control than this if I was in my own mind."

"Yes, doesn't it? I also find it very odd that you would have come to rest _here, _instead with one of your other refuges."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the man said quickly.

"Yes, you do," the presence said. She seemed to sigh then. "Can we not play games with each other? I know a great deal more about you than you think. Courtesy of the tribal knowledge. That really is quite useful, you know. In any case, I have a way to let you out of _here, _although not out of our host's mind in its entirety. The question is, should I?"

"At this point you've already made up your mind and nothing I say can make a difference," the man remarked. "Why don't you just tell me what you've decided to do?"

Again, the laughter. "And you were supposed to be insane," the presence mused. "Very well, I shall "get on with it" as you so _nicely _put it." After a moment or two, the darkness lifted somewhat. Well, perhaps that was not quite the right term. It was more as if a beam of sunlight had pierced through it and was now illuminating the man's face. As this was someone's mind, of course, this didn't _actually _happen but it was as if it did (without the blinding). The darkness itself stayed as deep and as impenetrable as if nothing had happened at all.

"Leaving me chained, nice," the man remarked.

"Well, I don't exactly trust you," the presence purred. "But this way you can communicate with our dear host and even defend yourself from attack! Of course I doubt he even knows you're here... it will do well for defense against Dumbledore and his like, though. What, aren't you going to thank me?"

"Thank you," the man said without a hint of gratitude.

The presence laughed softly. "Well, you _have _protected our host before even if you didn't realize it. In any case, I must be going. Have fun figuring out what to do!" And then it vanished, leaving a trail of silver laughter in its wake.

The man sighed, and then lifted his head to look directly into the light. For a moment dizziness swept over him, as if he standing at the top of a tall cliff and looking down to the ocean below. But then that, too, passed and he was looking through eyes that were not his own, hearing with ears that were not his own, feeling with senses that were most certainly not his own.

His host appeared to be in a library of some sort. He was reading about what looked like a wizard's magical core and how it changed throughout life. Boring. That's when he realized that, as large as the book and chair he appeared to be sitting on were, if his host was an adult then his head would have been a lot higher. He almost groaned out loud when he realized that his host was definitely a child, perhaps one of 11 or 12.

Please let him be a prodigy, the man thought. Please. _I don't want to have to reclaim my body with help from a _child. That was when he realized that he had already decided that he was going to go after his body, and that he was going to get this child to assist him. _How stupid is that? _He wondered. _Damn, I don't even know how to talk to him! _

A hint of silver laughter threaded through his mind and he scowled, trying to push it away. An instant later he was back in his own body, if it could be called a body when it had no physical presence Well, it did, but it was definitely not what one would call a body.

_Maybe if I shout? Or something? _He wondered. "HELLO?!" he yelled as loudly as he could. No response as far as he could tell. He looked back into the light and saw that the child was still reading about magical cores, and although he _had _flipped the page, nothing else even remotely interesting had happened.

Tom Riddle sighed and leaned back against the 'wall', ignoring the chains. They didn't really exist anyway. This was going to be fun... not...


	12. The Battle Crow

"_Nekomata meow speech"_

Lucci sighed to himself as he talked about something or other with Draco. _Is this but another mask? _He wondered to himself. _It must be... I can certainly never tell him who or what I am. I can never tell anyone... heh, the moment it got out everyone would certainly revile me... There really is no one in this world that I can truly trust... not even Draco, not now anyway. Perhaps with time... _

Tsume hung her head, sensing her familiar's thoughts. _If only I could do something for him, _she thought. _He hides so much pain... so much that he will never tell anyone. Perhaps Tom Riddle can help him, even if only slightly. Even now, he hides behind a carefully constructed mask. _

Tsume sighed to herself and got up, pushing the door open with her head and padding out into the garden. There, surrounded by greenery, she rested her head on her paws and wondered if this was why so few Nekomata took familiars. _Humans are such complicated creatures. Making such a big deal out of everything. He would do well if he had a true pridemate. Not a kid like Draco, or a familiar like me, but someone he could talk to as an adult, someone who would understand him. _

She sighed again. _Ah, if only. But that is not going to happen, is it? _

_**Some time later... **_

The Malfoys and Lucci arrived at the entrance to Diagon Alley. The letters had arrived that day and so they had gone out to go ahead and get school supplies. They were all dressed in wizarding robes and Lucci had his normal top hat on his head. Tsume had also come along, padding along quietly beside her familiar.

Halfway through the trip, Tsume was beyond bored... that is until she caught a very familiar scent. It wasn't familiar to _her, _exactly, it was more like she recognized it through the magic that was Pack. So she quietly left the group in such a way that no one noticed, and headed off to the alleyway from which the scent was coming.

After a moment she found the hooded figure from which the scent was coming. He was casually leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets. "So you found me, eh, sister?" he asked. He reached up one hand and casually flipped his hood back. The face revealed was that of a cat's, a leopard's to be exact. Except that his fur was pitch black and his spots wer white.

Tsume meowed uncertainly. _"Brother?" _

"The very same," the figure agreed. "Anyway, the Pridestar wanted me to tell you something."

Tsume cocked her head to the side expectantly. _"What? Does it have to do with my familiar?" _

"Not really," her brother said. "Anyway the message is thus: 'When the time comes and your tail splits, come to the Temple of the Moon. You are our race's last hope against the Battle Crow.' That is all. I'm not really sure what's going on myself, I'm just a warrior and occasionally a messenger."

_"I see..." _Tsume meowed uncertainly. _"Do you know what this Temple of the Moon is?" _

"I can not say. It is against the tradition of our race. However, I will tell you that I went there after my tail split to receive the wisdom of our ancestors. You will know the way, though how I could not say."

_"Thank you for telling me. It is good to see you, brother. However I must be heading back to my familiar or they will notice my absence." _So saying, she turned and bounded away back in the direction of her familiar. The other Nekomata flipped his hood back over his head.

High above, a crow circled overhead. A chilling screech rent the air, once, twice, three times. Then the crow wheeled away and was gone. The Nekomata glanced up uneasily, frowning. Then he shook his head. _Nonsense. What would the Battle Crow be doing _here?

Little did he know that he was not the target...

_**Tsume**_

On her way back to Lucci, Tsume heard a screech, like the sound of some kind of eagle. A chill went through her and her fur automatically bristled. She glanced up to see a black crow circling overhead. The bird screeched twice more and flew away. However, Tsume couldn't shake the awful feeling of impending doom that spread through her. She shook her head before darting after Lucci. It didn't look like the wizards had even noticed that she had been gone, although her familiar did give her a quick glance as she ran up.

_**Elsewhere... **_

The Battle Crow cawed to herself as she flew away from Diagon Alley as fast as an arrow. That annoying Nekomata had been Marked, now. A subtle twist of the _Dra'aden _and her death would come soon enough. The one that she knew was her main adversary had been there as well, but she could not See his death. And if she could not See his death, then she could not manipulate the _Dra'aden _to make it happen sooner.

The crow cawed somewhat mournfully at the thought. She would rather have enjoyed setting up his death so that way she got to peck out his eyeballs. _Mmm... human flesh... _she thought. If she'd been a human, she would've been drooling. _It's been far too long since I could enjoy that delicacy... _

She could always find a few of the non-magicals to eat, she supposed. It wouldn't be like fresh meat from the battlefield, ripe with the pain and suffering that saturated such areas, but it would do.

If birds could scowl, the Battle Crow would have been scowling as she thought of the Nekomata. _Curse them, _she growled in her mind. _It would be better if they didn't exist! Them and their prophecies... they are the ones who managed to seal me in the first place! _

The crow sighed softly, then angled towards a phone booth that she saw by the edge of the road. Someone got into it and the crow darted inside moments before the door slammed shut. She waited in the corner as the floor dropped out from underneath them and she was transported into the Ministry of Magic.

It was easy enough to get into the lift and wait in the corner. It was annoying how long it took before someone was going to her destination. Approximately an hour later, the crow darted out into the Department of Mysteries, sticking to the shadows and staying near the ceilings whenever possible.

Before long the crow reached the weird spinning room. The person she had been shadowing disappeared through one of the doors, leaving her all alone in the room. She flew lazily around the perimeter, turning up her magic sense. Before long she located the door she wanted.

She _shifted, _then, changing back into her (semi) human form. She overall looked rather scruffy, like someone who had been living on the streets. Her hair was silver, yet her face was ageless. It was messily cropped, like she had cut it herself with a knife. Her eyes were a beady black, like a bird's. She was of middling height and wore a dress that looked entirely too elegant for her overall appearance. It was a dark black with an extremely poofy skirt that looked like it should hamper her movement, yet somehow she managed to still move extremely quickly with it on.

She reached out a hand and twisted open the doorknob, then darted into the Prophecy Room. Almost as soon as she passed by the entrance, alarms started blaring. She cursed under her breath, knowing she would have to move quickly. Her eyes scanned the shelves quickly and she soon found the orb she was looking for. She reached out and grabbed it, pocketing it in her skirt. She _shifted _back into a crow and waited for the door to open. As soon as she did she was back through it, diving low over the guards' heads.

They reached for their magic-sticks and hurled a couple stunners after her. _Idiots, not having their magic-sticks out in the first place, _the crow thought contemptuously, easily dodging their puny attempts. She screeched and moments later the pair of wizards fell down from some mysterious death. She wasn't sure exactly what it was, she hadn't exactly been sure when she twisted the _Dra'aden. _

From there it was simple enough to stick to the shadows. She was soon back in the lobby and fluttering in a shadowy patch near the ceiling. This was where it got a little more problematic, as the entrances had all been shut down. She scanned the defenses of the lobby, not much, just a couple wizards guarding the fireplaces and another pair watching over the phone booth entrance.

The Battle Crow knew what she needed to do. She dove out of her hiding place and shot towards the guards near the phone booth entrance. They both reached for their wands, but she _shifted _as soon as she was above them and dropped them both with a chop to the temple. _Honestly, they need to train their forces better, _she thought wryly as she activated the booth entrance and stepped into it before the other guards had a chance to react.

A few spells sparked off the stone beside her head, but she was long gone before anything deadly could have possibly hit her.

Once back at the surface, she _shifted _again and soared off into the sky, back towards the place that she somewhat fondly regarded as her hideout.

_**Diagon Alley, one hour earlier**_

The party of wizards approached their last stop, Flourish&Blotts. For some reason there was a huge line extending out the door and halfway down the street. Tsume slipped off through the crowd and came back moments later with a flier in her mouth. Lucci took it from her and read, _Gilderoy Lockhart's Book Signing! _He didn't have to read more to realize what was going on.

_Gilderoy Lockhart... where have I seen that name before? _Lucci pulled his book list out of his pocket and frowned at it. "Most of the books on our list have been written by this Gilderoy Lockhart," he remarked.

"Really?" Draco pulled out his own list and scanned it. "I heard from Pansy that he's going to be our new Defense professor. Weird, why does he need this many books for one class?"

"Hello," Draco's father said in a chilly tone. Lucci glanced up to see a handful of Weasley's making their way out of the store. Ron and a younger redhead were accompanied by an older man who was probably their father. Ron was carrying a stack of books while his sister was carrying a cauldron with her books in it.

"Mr. Malfoy," the father said in a tone that was equally as chilly.

Suddenly, the cauldron slipped out of the girl's arms, spilling her books all over the middle of the street. _What caused that? _Lucci wondered. _She does not look that clumsy. _He glanced at the older Malfoy and saw that the tip of his wand was protruding from his sleeve. _Why did he do that? _

Lucius bent over the fallen books and started tossing them back into the cauldron. Lucci saw him slip another book into one of the textbooks. He felt a sudden surge of anger from the back of his mind, anger that was not his own. However he could feel nothing else of the presence except anger, and lots of it.

Moving on an impulse, he moved forwards and "accidentally" bumped Lucius' arm, causing the blond to drop the textbook. "Oh, sorry," he said, leaning down to pick it up. With his back to the senior Malfoy, he pulled out the slim black book and pocketed it before tossing the textbook back into the cauldron.

A few minutes later, all of the books were back in the cauldron and the two families faced each other, cool politeness masking their mutual dislike. _This is stupid, _Lucci thought when Lucius and the older Weasley had faced each other for a whole minute without saying anything.

"Can we go and get our books now?" he asked, nudging Draco with his elbow. The blond had been looking distinctly uncomfortably, although he hid it well.

"Yeah, I don't want to spend all day here," Draco drawled.

"Very well," Lucius said, and turned around, joining the line of people heading into the store. The Weasley's disappeared into the crowd.

When they finally got into the store, it was extremely crowded, hot, and stuffy. Lucius decided that he would rather wait outside for the boys to get their books, so he slipped back out onto the street.

Inside the store, Lucci managed to locate most of the non-Lockhart books with ease and led Draco to them. Draco was the one who spotted where all of the Lockhart books were. "Up there," he said, pointing to a long table near the back of the store. There was a man up there who was busy signing books. Everything about him was immaculate, down to his smile and the deft way in which he signed his books.

Lucci frowned to himself. "Would you mind getting a set of books for me, too?" he asked. "I don't want him to realize that I am the oh-so-famous Harry Potter."

Draco gave him a sympathetic look before nodding and slipping through the crowds to grab two sets of books from the table. As he didn't want them signed, there was no need for him to join the line. The blond was on his way back when Lockhart caught sight of Lucci.

"Why, Harry Potter!" the man said, starting to move towards him. Lucci cursed under his breath and tried to disappear into the crowds. However, everyone in the store seemed just as interested as Lockhart and heads started turning towards him.

"_The _Harry Potter?"

"It's the Boy-Who-Lived!"

"I wonder if I can get his autograph?"

Lucci gave them all his fiercest glare and started to try and get to the entrance to the shop where he could escape out onto the street. _I should have changed my appearance, _he grumbled internally. He had certainly never had to put up with this as a member of CP9, even when he was working undercover with the famous Galley-La Company.

Unfortunately, his glare did little to deter them and they started to press in around him. Draco gave him an apologetic shrug and headed up to the counter to pay for his books. "Traitor," Lucci grumbled under his breath.

Then Lockhart 'rescued' Lucci. He managed to get through the crowd and draped his arm around Lucci's shoulders. "Sorry, but I need to talk to him for a bit," he said, flashing his famous white-toothed smile. He steered the young wizard away to a relatively quiet corner. The crowd apparently decided to leave them alone.

"So honored to make your acquaintance!" Lockhart began, holding out his hand. "I am Gilderoy Lockhart, as you doubtless know." He would have said more, but Draco joined them and handed Lucci a tall stack of books.

"Here," the blond said. "Give me those; I'll go pay for them," he added, pointing to the few books that the other classes requested. Lucci handed them to him and Draco set back off through the crowd back to the counter.

"Thanks," he called out after the blond. He glanced down at the stack in his arms and winced slightly. If his initial impression of Lockhart was correct, and his first impressions usually were, then the books were going to be mostly rubbish.

Lucci turned back to Lockhart and managed to fix a grimacing sort of smile on his face. "I'm sorry, I really would like to stay and talk, but I'm on a really tight schedule. Perhaps later...?"

"Oh, of course!" Lockhart said, beaming at him. "I totally understand! I'm going to be your Defense professor this year so we'll have plenty of opportunity to talk later."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Lucci muttered.

"Hmm? What was that?" Lockhart asked. "I didn't quite hear you."

"Nothing that you need to be concerned about," Lucci replied. He glanced around for Draco and noticed the blond near the entrance. Apparently he had already managed to pay for everything. "I really must be going." Before Lockhart could say anything else, the young wizard slipped away through the crowds, moving quickly enough that by the time they noticed that Harry Potter was passing amongst them once more, he was already gone.

"How much do I owe you?" was the first thing Lucci asked as the pair moved out into the sunlight. _Damn this is a lot of books, _he added internally, awkwardly balancing the stack in his arms. It reached higher than his chin and he had to move in a smoother fashion than he usually did just to keep the stack from toppling over.

"Don't worry about it," Draco said. "The books didn't cost that much and I have plenty of money."

"If you say so," Lucci replied. He certainly wasn't going to spend money when there was a chance that spending it could be avoided.

"Somehow I get the feeling that DADA is going to be extremely boring this year," Draco said as they approached his father.

"I couldn't agree more," Lucci replied.

_**Like it? Love it? Review it!**_


	13. Capture

_**Later that night**_

Lucci sat on his bed and pulled out the black book he had seen Lucius try to slip into the Weasley girl's book. He once again felt a surge of that irrational anger that wasn't his own, but it seemed to be much less than it had been in Diagon Alley. _Ugh, what the hell is going on with my mind? _He wondered. _I already had my leopard, now there's another two presences that can hop into my mind apparently whenever they want, although one of those is Tsume, probably, and now random anger at seeing a book? This is getting ridiculous... _

Lucci turned his attention back to the book, doing his best to ignore the anger that flowed from the back of his mind. He flipped it over, trying to find something distinguishing about its features, but all he saw was that it was a small, leather-bound black book. There were no words on the cover or back. He flipped through it briefly and all he saw within were blank pages. _So why did Lucius want to put this in the Weasley's book? This doesn't make any sense... _

Lucci flipped it open to the first page. He frowned slightly as he made out the faint letters of T. M. Riddle. _Was this someone's diary? Someone's diary that they never wrote in? This book has _got _to be magical in some way. Maybe if someone writes in the diary they die? But why would Lucius want to kill the youngest Weasley? It just doesn't make any sense... _

Lucci frowned then decided to test something. If it was just a plain book then it wouldn't matter anyway, and it could prove if the book was magical or not. On the other hand, destroying it could cause some kind of magical retaliation, so...

Lucci stood up and moved as far away from the fireplace as he could before tossing the black book into it. As soon as the book left his hand he used Kami-e and waited for whatever was to come. He didn't know what he expected, perhaps an explosion or a mental attack, maybe, however nothing happened. Literally nothing. The book didn't burn. It didn't even look charred!

Lucci used a poker to pull it out. He reached out and picked it up. It didn't even feel warm. _Okay, so definitely magical, _he thought. _Probably protections put on it, maybe by this T. M. Riddle. It seems like overkill to put that kind of protection on a diary that he never wrote in except for his name, so it's probably magical in another way. On the other hand, he could just have been paranoid... or it might not have been him and he was just a victim of the diary somehow. _

Lucci returned to his desk with the book and set it down. He checked it carefully for a false spine and then looked through the book again, more carefully this time. He found nothing. To all his senses it was exactly what it appeared to be: a plain black diary.

Lucci stepped back a little ways and then shifted into his full leopard form. He suppressed his leopard which was at its strongest when he was in this form, and looked at the diary with an animal's eyes. He didn't feel any sort of primal fear coming from his leopard, so whatever the object was it wasn't anything that an animal would know to be afraid of. His keener senses didn't detect anything about it either. With a sigh of frustration he changed back into his human form.

_Maybe I can find something in the Hogwarts library about how to identify what an enchanted object does. I might even be able to find something in the Malfoy library. I should probably set Hermione on this too, she's great at researching, better than I am. Perhaps I'll go explore the Forbidden Forest more once I get back to Hogwarts, too. I haven't killed anything in ages... my leopard's getting harder and harder to control. _

_**The train to Hogwarts  
**_

When Draco and Lucci reached the compartment, Pansy, Blaise, Daphne, and Theodore were already there. Several sheets of paper were scattered around them and Theodore was in the process of rolling a pair of dice.

"And... the goblin grazes Ashyrina's arm for three damage," he said. "Hey, Lucy, wanna join? You can show up from nowhere and decimate the goblin party."

Lucci didn't even bother to argue about how his name was pronounced at this point. They hadn't given up and most certainly weren't going to. "Why not?" he asked. He opened his trunk and pulled out a slim purple folder before closing it and lifting it up to the overhead compartment. Draco sighed and shook his head.

"You guys are going to be boring for the whole ride there?" he asked.

"You _could _join, you know," Daphne pointed out.

"Blaise, your move," Theodore said. Blaise didn't respond. He was busy looking through a book that was as thick as a textbook.

"Ah, here we go," Blaise said, apparently reaching the right page. "Sorry, I forgot to write down my new bow's stats. I'll shoot the goblin attacking Ashy. Um, do I get a penalty on that?"

"Yeah, -4 on the attack roll because Ashyrina's partially in the way and if you miss you hit Ashy for half damage," Theodore replied. Lucci sat down and opened up his folder, pulling out his character sheet, skill list, and equipment list.

"Could I see the PHB?" he asked.

"Yeah, here," Blaise said, handing the thick book to Lucci. Lucci quickly found the right page. He didn't remember how Charging worked.

"Make the shot, I'll be fine and if you hit it you'll probably kill it," Daphne said. "Ashy's tough and anyway she can heal herself if she needs to."

"Well, if you're sure," Blaise said. He grabbed a d20 out of a nearby dice pile and rolled it. "Oh damn," he said when it came up on a 1. "Please tell me I didn't kill her?"

Theodore flipped open another nearby book and rolled a pair of d10's. "Roll damage," he said.

"Sorry Daphne," he said before rolling three d6's. They landed beside him and he looked over to see how much pain he inflicted on his teammate. The train shook suddenly and the dice rolled off the bench onto the floor. Blaise reached down to grab them and the train shuddered again. The dice rolled away from his grasping fingers.

Moments later the train stopped completely. "What happened?" Draco asked the world at large, looking up from a Potions textbook. "Why'd the train stop?"

Lucci got up and moved to a window. He saw nothing out of the ordinary, just fields and cows and more fields and more cows. Tsume got up as well and prowled around the compartment, sniffing suspiciously at corners.

There was a heavy thump from above as if something big had just landed on the train roof. Lucci backed up, slightly, looking upwards. There was a scratching sound as if whatever it was was trying to claw its way through.

The next moment a set of claws burst through the roof. They were pulled out and sunlight streamed in through the holes left behind. _"Something is attacking the train," _a female voice said, seemingly from the middle of the compartment. It was the emergency communication spell. _"Please remain calm and stay in your compartments. The attackers will be dealt with." _

Lucci ignored the voice and backed away from where the claws had come through. His fellow Slytherins were doing the same, most of them looking nervous despite themselves. Lucci felt nothing but an eager anticipation for battle and rising bloodlust. It really _had _been far too long since he had been able to kill anything.

There was a sharp bang from above as if someone had struck the roof with a hammer. The metal bulged inwards slightly.

"It's too small in here," Lucci muttered. "Draco, keep an eye on the windows. All of you get your wands out and be prepared to attack the thing as soon as it breaks through the ceiling."

Another couple of thumps came from above, and then something hit the side of the train. The boys were thrown against the wall as the train tilted over and finally settled on its side. Lucci was up in an instant, quickly looking around for anything that might be a threat.

The other boys also managed to scramble to their feet. "I'm scared," Theodore said in a quiet voice. His wand hand was trembling slightly.

"We'll be okay," Pansy said, doing her best to reassure him. "There's adults on the train, too."

The window above them shattered and a beaked head poked its way through. It looked rather like a birds head, but no bird was that big, or had those muscular shoulders. The creature opened its mouth and Lucci knew what it was going to do in a flash of intuition.

"Aguamenti!" he shouted as the creature spat fire. Water shot from his wand towards the beak of the bird-thing and extinguished the fire while blasting the creature off the train. It screeched as it was blown backwards.

_"__Dissiliunt!__!" (Destroy) _a voice screamed from outside. The next moment the upward half of the train literally exploded, hurling shrapnel and broken glass everywhere. Lucci leaped onto Draco and used Tekai, doing his best to protect them both. He only hoped that the others were okay.

When the shrapnel finally stopped falling, he glanced up to see that the side, now the top, of the train had been blasted open. High in the sky were several circling shapes, too high up for him to make out any details.

Somewhere nearby an angry screech sounded, followed by heavy footsteps racing towards the train. Lucci acted without hesitation, jumping into the air and propeling himself upwards with a couple of Geppou. He saw that racing towards the train was an immense beast that seemed to be half bird and half bear, with the body of a bear but the vicious talons and beak of a bird of prey.

He sent a handful of Rankyaku at it. The air attacks ripped through its body and cut it into several ragged pieces. While in the air he glanced around to see that there were several others attacking the train and that there were also wizards who were doing their best to kill the creatures.

He sent off a few Rankyaku at the nearest creatures before landing back in the compartment. He heard screams of pain and grinned in victory. Ah, how he _did _miss killing.

Once back on the floor (side) of the compartment, he looked around for his companions. Draco was unharmed but had been knocked unconscious by a piece of falling rubble that had hit his head. Tsume was crouched next to him, apparently guarding him. Pansy and Daphne were helping Blaise get to his feet.

"What _was _that?" Blaise asked, staring at Lucci. "What spell did you use? Was that even a spell?"

"It's a martial arts technique," he replied. "There are other enemies around still. I killed all the ones near us but there are still the things in the sky."

Something dove towards him, a streak hurtling out of the sky at unimaginable speed. Lucci activated Tekai, knowing that he would never be able to dodge in time. Instants later, a pair of immense claws grabbed him around the shoulders and he was being carried off into the sky. Tsume surged forwards and leaped at the bone-dragon, but it was already too high up in the sky for her to reach. She let out a mournful yowl and wished that she could throw fireballs at it.

"Is that a _Dracolich?_" Theodore muttered. He opened one of the nearest roleplaying books to the correct page and looked up at the thing again. "That _is _a Dracolich. Huh. So those things actually exist."

"Idiot, don't just stand there!" Pansy snapped at him. "Didn't you learn how to use stunners?! Use them!"

"Ah, right," Draco said. He aimed his wand at the reanimated dragon and shot off a few stunners. They sparked uselessly off of the thing's bones.

High above, Lucci deactivated Tekai once he realized the thing wasn't trying to kill him and started trying to twist around into a position where he could use Shigan on it. He cried out as the Dracolich dropped him. Instantly Lucci used Geppou to try and get away from the dragon. He smacked into something spiky and immediately started to try and get away from it. _Idiot, should have looked where I was going, _he berated himself.

Cold, scaly arms wrapped around him. "Go to sleep now..." a surprisingly feminine voice murmured in his ear. Lucci felt his limbs relaxing against his will. Angrily he tried to change into his midform, but he found himself unable to, as unable to as if he was under the influence of seawater. He savagely bit his lip and the pain seemed to drive away whatever magical force was trying to put him to sleep.

He shifted into his midform and twisted around in the thing's arms, trying to get his head in a position where he could bite the neck of whatever was holding him. He found himself staring into the face of some kind of weird fairy, completely covered in scales and elaborately decked out with horns and spikes. She had a rather large set of fangs, too.

He didn't hesitate and went for her neck, intending to sink his own fangs in. He clawed and scratched at her scales as he did so. He felt the familiar stickiness of blood on his claws and knew that he was at least hurting her a bit.

"Bad kitty," she hissed at him. A whip lashed out of nowhere and wrapped around his neck, cutting off his air supply. Lucci merely kept trying to kill the fairy, ignoring the fact that he couldn't draw breath and the uncomfortable pressure around his neck.

However he was drawn away from her and he quickly realized that the whip was not a whip at all, but a tail. He attempted to Shigan it, but his strength was already fading and he couldn't aim properly, and the tail was almost too thin to see.

The last thing he saw before he fell unconscious was the leering face of the fairy.

_**Like it? Love it? Review it!**_


	14. Unlikely Sources

Moments after Lucci was carried into the sky, the attack ended. The owlbears were picked up by several of the flying creatures, and then the entire hoard moved away. Apparently they had gotten what they had come for.

"I've already sent my patronus for Dumbledore," Professor McGonagall said. She was one of the handful of volunteers who had agreed to ride the train with the students. They, along with a small but determined group of seventh years from all houses, had been the ones to try and defend the train against the attackers. She thought she had seen a handful of first years fighting back too, with some extremely weird spells. She was probably mistaken.

"We can portkey them all to Hogsmeade, and walk from there to the castle," Professor Sinestra said. "It would be best to get them under the safety of the wards as soon as possible. We can worry about the train later."

"First we should figure out if anyone got injured in the attack and give them medical help," Professor Sprout argued. "That's more important."

"Yes, the safety of the students should be our first priority," Professor McGonagall agreed. "As soon as that is assured, though, we should get them under the cover of Hogwarts wards." She raised her wand and cast the communication charm. _"To all students: The attack is over. I repeat, the attack is over. You can come out of the train now. Shortly you will all be portkeyed to Hogsmeade. If there are any of you who are injured, please come forwards to us and we will heal you." _

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, a ragged group of Slytherins climbed out of the upturned train and made their way towards the group of professors. One of them was leaning on another, as if he couldn't walk on his own. An extremely worried-looking silver leopard accompanied them.

"Harry's gone," Theodore said even before he reached them. "A Dracolich took him."

"Gone?!" was the simultaneous stunned reply of the professors.

"Yeah," Daphne said. Her eyes gleamed as she added, "But not before he cut up a bunch of those owlbears! That was _awesome! _There was blood everywhere!" As an afterthought, she added, "None of it was Lucy's, of course. He's too awesome for that!"

"Daphne, dear, we all know about your obsession with blood," Pansy said wearily. "Sometimes I think that's the only reason you ever started rping with us."

"Mrow!" Tsume said, actually said like a human would. "Meow? Oh, I can talk now. Wait did my tail just split?"

"Eh? You can talk?" Theodore asked her. He didn't think it was really all that surprising, considering that she had shown herself to be quite intelligent beforehand and was quite clearly magical. For all he knew, talking magical cats were quite commonplace in a different country or something and only Britain didn't have any cool cats like that. "Wait, what do you mean by did your tail just split?"

"What _are _you anyway?" Professor McGonagall asked. "You wouldn't happen to be some kind of talking animagus, would you?"

"Ooh, cool, my tail did split," Tsume said, looking over her shoulder to see two cheerfully waving tails. She appeared completely oblivious to the questions from those around her, more absorbed in the fact that she could talk now. "Hmm, I wonder if I can throw fireballs now? How do I throw fireballs? Damn, if only Brother had stuck around long enough to tell me..."

"Just... what are you?" Draco asked. "I mean, you're clearly a magical cat, but what _kind _of magical cat? Could you talk all along?"

"No," Tsume said. "Nekomata receive most of their powers when their tail splits, including the ability to speak the human tongue, communicate with all other animals, _shifting, _and the whole fireball thing. Agh, my racial memories don't have anything about how to throw fireballs. I guess I'll figure it out."

"A Nekomata? But your kind was presumed extinct!" Professor Sinestra gasped.

"Indeed," a grandfatherly voice said from behind them. The group turned around to see Dumbledore walking towards them. "They _were _presumed extinct, however we have a small clan of them at Hogwarts, not that they know that I know that they exist."

"In any case, I can't stick around here," Tsume said. "I have to, no, _need _to go."

"You're going after Harry? I do not think that that is-" Dumbledore began.

"He is fine," Tsume said, her eyes gaining a distant look. "And he will be fine. The Great Twister can't manipulate him and will probably keep trying to do so for several weeks at least. She is extremely protective of things she considers hers and will most certainly keep the others from harming him, at least. She herself won't hurt him too badly, she doesn't like torture as she thinks it is far too crude." Tsume shook her head and frowned, her eyes regaining their crystal lucidity. "I don't know how I know this, but I do. More racial memories."

"The Great Twister? Who is he?" Dumbledore asked.

"YOur race has forgotten much," Tsume replied. Her eyes gained that distant look again. "She was and is one of the Morrigan, a dark trio of sisters who were trying to destroy this world and everything in it. Who knows why? The point is, she is one of the witches that all of the magical creatures of the world banded together to stop-and even then they barely defeated her and her sisters. I certainly could not go after the entirety of the Morrigan alone, and that's not to speak of their allies."

"Then where are you going?" Draco asked. "You can't go! If there's anyone who can lead us to Harry, it's you!"

"I must," Tsume replied. "I... I have no choice. If I do not go... the world will end."

"What do you mean? How could the world end just from that?" Professor McGonagall asked. "If you stayed, wouldn't we have a better chance of beating these... Morrigan that took Harry? You seem to be the only one who knows anything about them."

"As it was Seen, so shall it be," Tsume replied. "One of my race's most ancient prophecies speaks of it. That is all I know. Even if I knew the actual verse, I do not think I could translate it into the human tongue." Tsume raised her head and looked up into the blue sky. "I shall know the way..." she murmured. Then, "Farewell."

She tensed her muscles and for an instant a blue aura seemed to surround her body. The next moment she leaped forwards and was gone, crossing an untold amount of distance with a single bound.

"Well damn," Draco said after a moment, accurately summing up his companions' feelings. "What now?"

"Now? I guess we get to Hogwarts," Theodore said quietly. "And we get Harry back. You _will _go and get Harry back, right?" The last was to Dumbledore.

"I will most certainly try," the Headmaster replied. "But we have no idea of his whereabouts. I will attempt a tracking spell, but I have no idea how successful it will be. Now come on, let's get everyone to Hogwarts before they come back."

_**Some time later, the Great Hall**_

"I realize that we have all been through a lot today," Dumbledore said, standing up and facing the gathered students. "However, in keeping with tradition I will go ahead and go through with the Sorting before the Feast begins. In such dark times, such traditions are the only thing that will keep people together."

Professor McGonagall walked out of the entrance hall and put the Sorting Hat on its traditional stool. Once the first years had filed in, it opened its mouth almost hesitantly, and began to sing a very different song from what it normally sung.

_Time is a wheel which turns and turns forever_

_By the time the wheel has turned a full cycle_

_That which has gone before is nothing but legend_

_The will of the Founders lives on within you_

_Rowena Ravenclaw, with her intelligence _

_Salazar Slytherin with his cunning_

_Godric Gryffindor with his courage_

_Helga Hufflepuff with undivided loyalty_

_And one more there was, _

_Hidden from history's pages_

_Aureus Ensis was his name, _

_The name of the one who sacrificed _

_His very life, long before Hogwarts was ever built,_

_To stop the Morrigan_

_Insignia each house did take_

_Eagle for Ravenclaw,_

_Snake for Slytherin. _

_Lion for Gryffindor,_

_Badger for Hufflepuff_

_And the Fifth was a mighty dragon, although he made no banner_

_The signs were meant to only be in spirit_

_Yet time has corrupted their meaning beyond recognition_

_The Wheel has turned once more_

_The time of the ancients is upon us again_

_The Chaos Sisters walk the Earth and only the Senzo* can oppose them_

_So wherever you go, wherever I put you,_

_Remember that if the four Aspects shatter and break apart, _

_Then so, too, will the world. _

As soon as the Hat stopped singing, whispers filled the Hall. Hermione, meanwhile, quickly scribbled the rest of the song down on a piece of parchment she had pulled from her pocket. "I'm gonna need to go the library after this," she muttered. "The Chaos Sisters walk the Earth... could they be who attacked us? Or something under their command, anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked her. "It's just a song."

"No it's not," Hermione replied, too busy thinking about what the words could mean to notice who she was talking to. "It's a prophecy in its own way. At the very least it provides some good research material."

_**At the Slytherin table... **_

Blaise likewise wrote down everything the Hat had said. He also intended to go the library later. As he looked over what he had written he thought that he recognized one of the names. _Morrigan... the Morrigan... isn't that an end-game ascension quest? To kill the Morrigan and stop evil? Or something like that, anyway. _

Blaise pulled out the second monster manual from his robes. He had gotten used to carrying most of his books around with him so that way they could play whenever they had time to. He flipped it open to the M section and yes, there it was. _The Morrigan, _he read. _A trio of demon sisters who are trying to destroy the world. Recommended to use as an ascension quest. A DC 20 History check reveals the following: The Morrigan are composed of three sisters, Nemain, Macha, and Babd Catha. It is said that Babd Catha can destroy anything, that Nemain can control anything, and that not much is known about Macha, as she always lurks in the shadows, planning and manipulating everything to an obsessive agree. _

_ A DC 30 history check reveals the following: Nemain can take the form of a Dragon Fairy, in which she can control the minds of any animal. When in her regular form she can only control plants. Her abilities do not actually include controlling humans. Babd Catha can take the form a giant crow, in which form she can destroy anything, even stone, with a screech. However she is relatively powerless in her normal form. You do not know much about Macha, but you do know that she can take the form of a black horse and that if you should find her in human form, be prepared for nasty traps and wards. _

Blaise slowly closed the book, ignoring the Sorting. _I wonder how much of this, if any, is true? _He thought. _That thing... the one that grabbed Lucci when he managed to escape from the Dracolich... I would call that a Dragon Fairy. Still though... it makes me wonder how much other information about demons and the like are actually based in reality? Maybe muggles really do know more than they think about the magical world. _

_**Deep beneath the castle... **_

A pair of yellow eyes opened, staring out into the darkness. _It is time, _it thought. _The One Helga told me to look for is here. Or was... am I too late? No... never that. No, he may not be in the castle now but he will be soon. And when he is... then the Senzo* will exist once more!_

_ But first, food. So hungry... so very hungry... _

_***Founder**_

_**Reviews are much appreciated, especially if they point out problems with my story!**_


	15. History of Magic: Passing Note Time

History of Magic was boring Draco Malfoy to death, like usual. _Why does this class have to be so boring? _he thought. He could clearly see notes being passed around the room and even helped out with it a little bit himself. _Maybe I should join their game. It'd be at leastg something to do. This class is practically useless anyway; only Granger is even bothering to pay attention. _

Draco sighed quietly to himself and started tracing patterns on his desk with his fingertips. _So bored... _he thought, once again finding himself missing Harry. _There's nothing to do... useless class. _

A note landed on his desk from somewhere. He glanced at the front of it to see who to pass it to. The custom in this class was to fold the parchment in half and have the recipient's name on the front and the message inside. Then it would make its way around the classroom until it reached its intended target. He was pretty sure the Gryffindors had a similar system, even if they _were _mostly complete idiots.

On the paper, in Theodore's easily recognizable untidy scrawl was written _Hermione. _It took him a bit to figure it out, and if he hadn't been able to use context, he would have htought that it was to someone named Hernniame. however, as there was no one named Hernniane in their class, he concluded that it was actually saying Hermione.

He tossed it onto Hermione's desk, having the misfortune to sit directly behind her. Well, more fortunate than the hapless Gryffindor sitting next to her, who was trying to sleep, while she kept scolding him and telling him to pay attention. It was quite amusing, really.

Whatever was in the note, it made Hermione's eyes widen. She pulled out another piece of parchment and scribbled a reply before tossing it back to Draco. The Malfoy saw that it was addressed to Theodore. _What's _he _doing communicating with her? _he thought. True, everyone in his "group" were more accepting of muggleborns and halfbloods than the majority of Slytherin, but they still didn't associate with them much.

Draco tossed the note off to Blaise, who was the closest to him. From there he watched it travel to Daphne and finally reach Theodore. Before long another note came his way. After passing it on, he wrote a note of his own and tossed it to Blaise. The answer came back quicly.

_ I have no idea what they're talking about. Probably something to do with books. They _have _studied together in the library, you know. But then I guess you wouldn't, since you hardly ever set foot there unless you can help it. _

_-B_

Draco scowled down at the note, and then wrote another one, passing it and Hermione's next note on to Blaise. They once again amde their way around the room until they landed on Theodore's desk. The Slytherin wrote a quick reply to both of them before passing them back.

When Draco got the two notes, he handed one off to Hermione and read the other one.

_ We're talking about what the Hat said at the Sorting. It's obvious it was some kind of prophecy. Anyway, Hermione is the most bookish person I can think of, even though she's not in Ravenclaw, so I told her what I had found out about the Morrigan and asked her if she knew anything. From her reply, I think the Morrigan are the ones that took Lucy. I know, that sounds crazy, since they've supposedly been dead for a thousand years, but the fairy thing that grabbed him is what Nemain looks like when she shifts form., at least according to the books. The Monster Manual said something like that as well. An Animagus form, if you will._

_And anyway, who else would it be? You-Know-Who's not back, or I would know from my father's disappearances. It has to be them! Dragon Fairies died out a couple centuries ago, after all. _

_-T_

Draco stared down at the note for a long moment before writing back.

_ That's crazy! They're _dead. _They lived in the time of the Founders, how could they be alive again? Even a Necromancer could only bring back their bodies as reanimated shells. And yeah, Father would've told me if You-Know-Who was back. But anyway, it _can't _be them. What makes you think it can? And the Monster Manual? You mean you're actually using a _roleplaying _book as a source?_

_-D_

The reply, when it came, was quick. He passed on the accompanying note to Hermione before opening it.

_ Hey, it corresponds with what I found in the deepest parts of the library, and also what Hermione has found. Muggles used to know about magic, after all. _

_ Also, I found a book talking about a legend that Macha cast a ward around each of her sisters, but only Babd Catha was powerful enough to activate it, or it was activated all the time and only Catha had enough will to actually use it, or something like that. The texts are very vague on that subject. Anyway, it did something that sealed her into the line of the one who killed her. It's said that the one who killed Catha was Slytherin himself. _

_Presumably there was a way for the user of the ward to come back to life from it, and maybe call the others as well. If she somehow managed to come back, maybe take over the body of the last of Slytherin's line or something, then she could very well have called her sisters. As it wasn't her magic, the normal inability to create wouldn't apply. _

_-T_

_ I still say this is crazy... but is there a better idea? The Hat did say that the Wheel had turned, whatever that means. If the Morrigan are back, then maybe the Founders are too, at least in spirit? _

_-D_

_ Who knows? I have to do more research before i can come to a definite conclusion, but its looking like Hermione has come to the same conclusion as I have. What were you doing earlier in the library, anyway? _

_-T_

_ She told you about that? I was researching battle magic. I'm gonna go and try to find a place to practice some of the simpler-looking spells, as well as see if I can learn wandless magic. The book I found it from said that the younger you start the easier it is to learn, and the spells I found don't take up all that much power, so I should be able to cast them with a little practice. _

_-D_

_ You aren't thinking of going after Lucy like a Gryffindor are you? Because if you are that would be extremely stupid. _

_-T_

_ Of course not! I just want to get stronger... so that way when Dumbledore finds him I'll be able to go along with the aurors and other people to go and save him. _

_-D_

_ So you ARE planning to go after him, then? What makes you think that you'll be able to convince Dumbles to let you tag along with the group?_

_-T_

_ If they don't, then I'll just go by myself._

_-D_

_ No you won't. I, at least, will come with you if it comes to that._

_-T_

_ Thanks_

_-D_

The bell rang then, signaling class was over. Draco happily shoved his supplies into his bag and joined Daphne who was waiting by the door. Blaise, Pansy, and Theodore soon joined them and they set off towards Transfiguration as a group. It didn't feel right without Harry though.

"What were you guys talking about?" Pansy asked as they headed down the halls. "You were passing so many notes, and to Granger, too."

"We were talking about what the Hat said at the Sorting," Theodore replied. "Hermione had already researched it somewhat as well, and I wanted to compare notes with her."

"You actually think that what it said might have some meaning?" Daphne asked. "It's just an old artifact, something could easily have screwed with its mental processes or something, assuming it even has mental processes. Or whatever spell helps it compose the spell."

"Yeah but it was made by the Founders," Blaise pointed out. "If there actually was a threat like the Morrigan coming back, don't you think it'd know? Maybe they cast a spell that made it say that stuff if the Morrigan ever _do _actually come back."

"But they're _dead. _How can a wizard come back from the dead?" Pansy asked. "Even if one of them did cast this powerful ward or whatever, it would still take an immense amount of magic power to actually activate, magic power that someone who's been a spirit for like a thousand years wouldn't have."

"What if they, I don't know, got some kind of powerful artifact and drained its power?" Theodore suggested. "I mean, anything that's highly magical would work, heck it could even have been one of the founders' objects."

"But surely we would know if one of those went missing?" Daphne argued. "All the powerful magical artifacts are closely guarded."

"It's not like they would exactly _tell _us. If it was stolen from the Ministry, they wouldn't want to admit to their incompetence, and if it was one of the Founders' objects, then we wouldn't know either unless it was Gryffindor's sword or the Hat, since we don't know where they are!" Blaise protested.

"It could have been something like the Philosopher's Stone," Theodore added. "Flamel's basically a recluse with his wife, yet they have guardianship over it. If they lost it somehow, and then, say, the body Catha was in found it, then she might have been able to use it, and Flamel and his wife wouldn't necessarily admit that they'd lost the Stone."

"What about the thing that the dog was guarding?" Blaise asked.

"I'm still not convinced that it was even guarding something," Pansy said. "Ever since you've saw that thing, you've become convinced that Dumbledore was hiding some kind of object in the school. Why would he do that, though? It's a _school. _He's not stupid enough to hide some kind of magical object in a school full of children."

"We're here," Daphne remarked, cutting their argument short. The Slytherins managed to slide into their seats just before class started.

Draco sighed and started transfiguring his large rock into a smaller rock, like they were supposed to. It all seemed so... _pointless. _It had been proven that _something _was out there, whether it be a new Dark Lord, or some kind of magical creature that was interested in making war on wizards, and yet here they were, wasting their time over changing rock size!

Suddenly, he had an idea as he stared down at the rock. _This thing could be used as a weapon,_ he thought. _Maybe. Transfiguration only lasts so long, though, so if I wanted to keep this rock small then I would have to continuously pour energy into it. If I shrank a bigger rock... I could throw it into something's mouth and then end the spell, making it expand and hopefully hurt them, if not choke them. _

_This is still boring, though, _he decided later as his rock had only shrunk a small amount.

_Extremely boring. _

_**Elsewhere...**_

Tsume finally arrived at the so-called Temple of the Moon. She did not know how she knew what it was, for it certainly did not look like a temple. It looked like some kind of weird natural rock formation that was roughly cone-shaped and had a tunnel going in in one side.

_Whatever I find here... may it give me the strength to rescue him! _she thought as she slowly padded down the passageway, on to whatever waited ahead. ad.


	16. And so it Begins

_**Several days after the students' arrival at Hogwarts**_

Draco got up early out of habit, and only when he walked over to Harry's bed did he remember that he had no one to train with anymore. He sighed quietly to himself before deciding to go to the library. He could at least work on his spellwork, if nothing else.

When he got there, he found that Madam Pince did _not _in fact get up before the crack of dawn. Hermione Granger, however, did. She was already surrounded by a large amount of extremely thick books and was busy taking notes on a piece of parchment. She glanced up when he entered. "Oh, hello," she said, before turning back to her books.

Draco ignored her, moving over to the shelves to look for something on attack spells. Of course he probably wouldn't be able to cast whatever he found right away, but he might be able to find some spells that didn't cost many power points and dealt a lot of damage. _Agh, curse you Theodore, I'm thinking like this is one of your roleplaying games now, _he thought .

After searching around for a bit, he found a thick tome that seemed to be entirely about elemental spells, that is earth, air, water, and fire spells. He grabbed that and an interesting-looking book on creatures that could shift their form. _I swear I saw him change into a leopard. Maybe he's some kind of shifter? _

He lugged the books over to the nearest table and started reading. After the first couple sentences of the elemental magic book, he pushed it to the side and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. Then he started reading it again, more slowly this time. _I can't make sense of this, _he thought. He flipped to the water section and found that even the most basic spells would take up too much power for him to use. The same thing happened with the earth section.

However, when he at last flipped to the last section of the book, the fire section, he suddenly knew what the book was talking about even after just reading the first couple sentences. The strange thing was, it was like he had known it already and the text had simply jogged his memory.

The first, most basic spell listed was _Incendio, _a spell that apparently produced an amount of fire that was proportionate to how much power the wizard poured into it. _Definitely one to practice, _he thought. He looked down at the next spell listed and saw that it was a wandless technique.

_Though this spell requires use of wandless magic, it takes very little energy and is good as a starting point for Fire casters attempting to learn wandless magic. If necessary, this spell can also be cast with a wand first before attempting to cast it wandlessly. If cast correctly, this spell will ignite the tip of your wand if you are using one, or, if you are casting it wandlessly, ignite the tips of your fingers. If you pour more power into it you should be able to ignite your whole hand. Of course, such flame will be harmless to yourself. However, it will burn other objects around you. If you use the Dragon fighting style, then this spell can greatly boost attack strength. _

Draco looked up from the passage. _When was this book made? _He wondered. He flipped it back to the front and found that it did not have a publishing date. _It's really old, then. Only the oldest books don't have publishing dates. This one's in surprisingly good condition, I guess someone restored it? _

He flipped back to the fire magic section and started reading about how to cast the wandless spell. It _looked _simple enough, if only because Harry had managed to teach him how to draw magic to parts of his body to form shields against attack. _How did Harry learn that anyway? Where did he learn that fighting style he used against the owlbears? I'll have to ask him later... _

He sighed and closed the book, deciding to go and look at the one about shifters. After flipping through the index he found only one mention of feline shifters, and those were Nekomata who couldn't assume a perfect human form.

Some time later, he realized that the sun had completely risen and that he should probably get down the breakfast hall. Madam Pince had come in at some point and was alternating between staring at the two researching students and recataloguing books.

Draco dropped off the shifter book on the _Reshelve _shelf and checked out the elemental magic book before heading back to his dorm. He nearly ran into Theodore on the stairs and the boys both stopped.

"Ah, you've embraced the wonders of the library," Theodore said somewhat sleepily.

"The only reason I was in the library was to research combat magic," Draco replied before heading on up the stairs. He dropped off the book on his bed and, with a last sad glance at Harry's empty bed, set off down to the Great Hall.

He barely had enough time to eat breakfast before first block, where he had DADA with the Ravenclaws. Theodore had sufficiently woken up by then that he started talking about something or other on the way there. When he mentioned the word _Morrigan _again, Draco finally started to pay attention.

"Wait what?" he asked.

"Yeah, see," Blaise said, pulling out a Monster Manual and flipping it open to the correct page. "The Morrigan, like the Hat mentioned. I bet 'Chaos Sisters' refers to the same thing."

"Wait, so you're saying that these incredibly powerful witches on par with the _Founders _are in a _roleplaying book?_" Draco said in disbelief.

"Well, the muggles know about Merlin, don't they? I mean, they think it's all a legend, but they still have stories of him," Blaise said.

"_Muggles _made that?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, you didn't know?" Theodore asked curiously. "I mean, what wizard would think of a game where you pretend to be a wizard?"

"I dunno, I think _you _would, if only to save yourself the boredom of History," Pansy interjected.

Daphne grinned and added, "Besides, if you didn't think of it I would think of something similar."

"Yeah, true enough," Theodore said, laughing. "Oh, and I was researching the Morrigan in the library and found basically what was in the Monster Manual. Hermione agrees."

"The mudblood?" Pansy asked.

"Yeah," Theodore said. "She's not so bad when you get to know her. Oh, and Blaise, I took the liberty of mentioning what you found in the Monster Manual to her, so you might get yourself mobbed by her."

"Oh, _thanks_," Blaise said sarcastically.

Draco sighed, watching his friends talk about the most inane things they could think of. It was obvious to him that they were doing their best to hide their grief at their friend's capture. He sighed and resolved to find some place to train as quickly as he could. He needed to get stronger.

_**Later**_

Draco was heading back up to his common room alone after sneaking some food from the kitchens. He had missed dinner due to his having gone out into the Forbidden Forest to find some monsters to practice on. He hadn't gone in that deep, of course, but he'd still managed to find some pretty nasty things.

The Slytherin paused, as he thought he'd heard something. He frowned and looked behind him, but there was nothing but a dark corridor stretcdhing away into the darkness. Draco sighed, shaking his head. _I must be imagining things, _he decided.

Then he heard it again, and was certain that he didn't imagine it this time. It sounded like stone rasping against stone. He spun around to look behind him but he couldn't see anything. Then suddenly two glowing yellow eyes shone through the gloom and Draco screamed. He turned and ran to the Slytherin dungeons as fast as he could.

_$Wait, dragon!$ _the basilisk yelled after him. Draco, naturally, couldn't understand the snake tongue and even if he could there was no way he was going to wait.

When he finally got back to his dorm, he was breathing hard and shaking. "What's wrong?" Theodore asked, looking up from some book about transfiguration. He had been the only one in their dorm who was awake, but now Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle had all woken up as well. After a few moments, Crabbe and Goyle went back to sleep.

"There's some sort of monster in the school!" Draco panted.

Blaise eyed in skeptically before saying, "Oh? What kind?"

"I don't know," Draco said, managing to calm his raging heartbeat somewhat. "But it was big, and had huge glowing yellow eyes."

"Hmm..." Blaise said. He opened up his Monster Manual and started flipping through it.

"Just because you found _some _information in there doesn't make it a reliable source..." Theodore muttered.

"Hmm, there's quite a lot of things in here with glowing yellow eyes. Any other details you can give me?" Blaise asked.

"No, sorry, except it was down in the dungeons, so maybe it likes the dark?" Draco questioned.

"No, nothing," Blaise said with a sigh. "We'll have to learn more details about it before we can decide for sure."

_**Lucci**_

_Rip... tear... rend... kill... destroy... rip... tear... rend... kill... destroy... _The snarling beast lunged against the bars of the cage, trying to bite through them with his teeth. He actually managed to leave toothmarks in the metal.

Nemain raised one hand and tried to Command him. Tendrils of black magic seeped through her skin and spiraled around the raging leopard, sinking beneath his skin. _Stop this, _she commanded him. The giant cat stilled, its muscles relaxing. Then a moment later its form changed back into that of Lucci's. The boy watched her with narrowed eyes.

_Oh damn it, _Nemain thought. _It took _days _to get that far! Now I have to start all over!_

"Having trouble, Sister?" Macha asked from the doorway.

Nemain turned around and scowled at the other woman. Naturally Macha had not come herself, but merely sent a projection. She still looked like Macha, every bit the smug red-haired woman that she was. "Shut up," Nemain snapped. "I'll break him eventually."

Lucci watched the bickering pair through narrowed eyes. He couldn't hear anything they said, the cage took care of that, but he could sense their intent well enough. He also did not _like _being forced to become a rabid raging beast. Even that one time when he'd lost control of his Devil Fruit hadn't been like that! At least then he at least could reason with his leopard somewhat, and he'd managed to stop it from killing Kaku.

This, though... this he had no control over, and even his leopard wasn't _that _rabid. Besides, he'd just killed something recently, so it shouldn't be so bad... _How am I ever going to get out? _Lucci wondered. _This stupid cage seems to be made of some nearly indestructible material, whatever it is it's certainly not steel. Odd that I should be able to actually deal some damage to it with my teeth, then... maybe I'll need to bite my way out? Bending the bars doesn't work, and they zap me, too, but there was no pain when I was trying to bite my way out. Maybe that's what I need to do... although maybe the reason they didn't hurt me is because my leopard was sort of in control? _

_Great, so I'm probably going to have to voluntarily lose control of my transformation to get out, and there are certainly guards outside the door, not to mention the witches themselves. This is going to be a problem.  
_

_**Tsume**_

She waited in the darkness of the cave. She did not no how long she waited, but at long last silver light blazed up in front of her. Tsume looked up to see a silver disk suspended in the air in front of her. It looked like an exact replica of the moon, even down to the various craters.

And as the disk blazed into life, she could almost _feel _the silver tendrils sinking into her mind, entwining around her thoughts. Moments later, her muscles slackened and she collapsed to the ground. If any one had stumbled into this particular cave, she would have appeared to be dead.


End file.
